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UPDATED: Suspect dies in police shootout

Police at the scene of the incident in Pinewood Gardens on Friday.

Police at the scene of the incident in Pinewood Gardens on Friday.

By RIEL MAJOR

Tribune Staff Reporter

rmajor@tribunemedia.net

ONE of two men taken to hospital after a car chase and shootout with police on Friday afternoon has died of his injuries.

According to a police report, around 2pm on Friday, Central Detective Unit officers in the Solider Road area attempted to stop a red Honda Accord which was speeding with its occupants acting suspiciously. The occupants of the vehicle opened fire and led police on a high speed chase to Pinewood Gardens where the vehicle crashed and burst into flames, police said.

The men then left the car and opened fire on the officers who fired back, injuring two of them. The third man escaped on foot.

Paramedics were called to the scene and took the injured men to hospital. Two officers suffered minor injuries and were also taken to hospital.

A 9mm pistol was recovered from the scene, police said.

On Saturday, police said one of the men died in hospital while the other suspect remained in stable condition.

The Tribune understands the deceased is Garth “Heacky” Harrison Jr, however, his identity was not released by police.

News of Harrison’s death quickly spread across social media with many family and friends expressing their grief.

A Facebook user said: “Life so short, I can’t believe my boy gone just like that. If I did know yesterday morning would’ve been our last time speaking, blood we woulda celebrate life one last time like we normally do when we link up. This cut real deep bro, sleep in eternal (sic).”

Another Facebook user said: “You don’t know how bad I’m hurting. Baby please remember that I love you forever and ever.”

Comments

TalRussell 5 years ago

The frequency policeman's shootings has be hard on the majority comrade officers left dismayed over the higher up in command ranks slackness of shootings accountability .... yes, no .. seems the accumulative shootings remain below the pay scale needed grab the attention populaces security minister .....

bahamianson 5 years ago

Imagine if the officers on the police force were white, it would be another issue. Since we may have one or two, I guess it isn't racism, lol.

TheMadHatter 5 years ago

It is unfortunate that the men and the officers were involved in such a terrible event. I encourage Social Services intervention at an earlier age bracket, even more than they do now. In addition, more church attendance is required by our population in general. We must remember that Jesus came not for the righteous, but to bring sinners to repentance and we must continue to do His work.

momoyama 5 years ago

Would that explain why countries with the highest church attendance (Nigeria, Jamaica, Honduras etc.) have the highest rates of violent crime and murder and those with lowest church attendance, who identify more as atheist and are quickly leaving behind religion (like Sweden, Norway, Japan etc.) have the lowest rates of violent crime?

momoyama 5 years ago

I think skin colour is a non-factor. As for generational poverty, there are few who can claim as much of that as overpopulated Asian societies like Japan. I think the culprit is weak cultures - precisely the kind that are easily infiltrated by bullshit like the Christian faith.

joeblow 5 years ago

@momoyama ... correlation is NOT causation, church attendance has nothing to do with crime rates. The developed countries you mentioned have higher income taxes (40% - 60%) which funds education, healthcare and other social aspects of life. They also have had the time to create cultures that promote more 'tolerance' after wars and other catastrophes. Most notably they also tend to have stronger families.

Lastly, none of those countries (Norway, Sweden etc) have had to deal with the seeds of division caused by colonialism and foreign occupation as have the third world countries on your list. So. lack of education, access to basic healthcare etc and single families do far more to increase crime than religion!

momoyama 5 years ago

the causation is cultural, not economic. A rich country like the Bahamas (with a minimum wage that is higher than most developing countries' professional salaries) has a MUCH higher level of violent crime than a dirt-poor one like Burma, Laos or Tibet. The causation is CULTURAL. The link with Christianity is that weak cultures like Afro-Caribbean ones are easily infiltrated by irrational nonsense like Christianity for the same reason that they are fundamentally bad at governing themselves socially. Because their culture is weak. Colonialism is not the cause either. Go to Nigeria and you will quickly realize how much better off we are in every possible sense to have been 'colonialised'.

momoyama 5 years ago

And probably the biggest reason why "black" societies, wealthy and poor, have astronomical VIOLENT crime rates, rather than just petty crimes like theft, is because of the near universal practice among them of beating the hell out of their children. Violent 'discipline' and child-rearing through intimidation (which are almost universal in black societies) are demonstrated to both lower IQs and create violent adults. Unfortunately, support for this most stupid of practices is found in the 'Bible', justifying and compounding this backward practice and making it harder to eradicate.

realfreethinker 5 years ago

Religion is part of the problem. rather than speaking to persons about doing the right thing y'all promoting that religious bullshit called "prayer". Y'all better wake up ain't no sky daddy going to help us

Iceman 5 years ago

Man look here stop talking about god and Jesus. You as a human being have the ability to chose what’s right from wrong. Free will is more powerful than any other ability god have give us. Free will is even more powerful than God. Y’all better wake up. The Bible is a guidance tool not the key to life.

mandela 5 years ago

If a person jumps out of their vehicle shooting at the police then they are looking to suffer the consequence, if it's death then so be it. 2 pm in the day where ya going and what ya doing riding around with guns, why? Law and Order we in the Bahamas lack law and order, we are too lawless

John 5 years ago

The probability of a young man being murdered in this country is greater than in most cities in Florida and most parts of the United States. And the probability of being shot by police has almost doubled since 2017. What is going on? The police budget has increased significantly under the FNM administration. And there has been considerable investment in new technology. A majority of the top brass of the police force has been removed and mandatorily retired. But now the murder rate has climbed back to what it was pre FNM and Marvin Dames and Anthony Ferguson. And the trust and confidence level in the police is at its lowest level, probably than it's been in at least a decade. At least. And this because of the regular conflicting reports of incidents by the police and from eyewitnesses. So what has to change now. What has to be done differently? or does Hubert Minnis, Marvin Dames and Anthony Ferguson see the current and increasing levels of murder and the number of police-involved shootings in the country as acceptable, or, at least not reduceable. On a recent talk show, a social worker said they are seeing an increasing number of young men showing up at the distribution centers seeking help. Some just want a warm meal, some want a change of clothing and others have nowhere to stay or are in search of a job. So is this an indication that many of the young men are in crisis and have been ignored by the country. Has the country over a series of administrations failed the young men, detaching them and their plight from the rest of society, casting them out and ignoring their pleas (somewhat silent) for help? So is it now time for the country to invest in the young men and bring them back into the fold. And prevent them from killing one another and getting in conflicts with the police? The social worker says,

"some want a warm meal, some ask for a change of clothing, others have no where to live and some are searching for jobs"

Basic human needs ..help them!

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