The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

BISHOP Simeon Hall made a clarion call to young men to stop the violence after three murders occurred within the first few days of the new year.

His comments came after National Security Minister Marvin Dames said the government is “still not happy” with last year’s death toll that is “still too high” despite it being below 100. The prominent pastor said the spate of murders is “frightening and too much for the national conscious”.

“I appeal to angry black men, if there is any good left in you – put down your guns. If you go to jail, you leave your mother, your wife, and your children,” Bishop Hall said. “Put down your guns and let us have a degree of safety in our country. I appeal to persons with a criminal mind to let us find a different way to resolve our conflicts.”

The new decade had a deadly start with a father-of-four shot dead on Third Street on New Year’s Day followed by two separate shooting incidents claiming the lives of two men on Sunday.

Police reported the first incident on Sunday happened shortly after 6pm. A man had just dropped off a woman at a residence in Hospital Lane, near John Road, when he was approached by a man armed with a firearm who shot him before running away. The victim drove a short distance away, before crashing into a tree. Paramedics were called to the scene and tried to revive him, but he died at the scene.

The second murder happened, according to police, shortly after 9pm near Prison Lane, Fort Fincastle, where a group of men were standing when a silver coloured Nissan Tiida pulled up. Two men got out of the vehicle and opened fire hitting one of the men in the group before speeding off. Paramedics were called, but the victim died at the scene.

According to The Tribune’s records, last year’s murder count was pushed to 96 - a 5.5 percent increase compared to 2018’s 91 killings. Despite the increase, the 2019 tally is lower than the 122 murders recorded in 2017.

Yet, Bishop Hall argued: “I don’t know if we should continue to portray or shout out the statistics because it doesn’t help. Somebody said they’re happy that we didn’t make 100 murders, I mean give me a break. We made 90 something - (more than 90) families have been affected.

“So, we cannot celebrate the numbers whether it’s 90 or 100. If it is one, we must try to socialise these young (men).... I said one time that I think we should learn from the white community. You don’t see white people killing themselves. This is black on black crime, but because they’re poorly socialised and I think I want to appeal to them that when you kill someone you stagger a family and then you go to jail and you hurt your family.”