The Tribune

By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

AFTER missing his goal of keeping murders below 100 this year, police Commissioner Clayton Fernander said authorities must “go back to the table and see where we could strategise and do some things differently”.

Hours after he told reporters 107 people were murdered this year, another man was shot dead on Bernard Road yesterday.

He said in March that he wanted to keep the murder count under 100 and “stem the fear of crime”.

Asked if he was disappointed to miss the mark, he noted there were fewer murders this year than last year.

“You set your goals and you try to achieve it,” he said. “We now need to go back to the table and see where we could strategise and do some things differently.”

 “Last year, we finished with 128, so we are still down. One murder is too much and that still concerns me and we will continue to do our due diligence to serve the Bahamian people.”

 Yesterday, Chief Superintendent Michael Johnson said police were alerted to the latest killing on Monastery Street after 2pm yesterday.

 The victim was reportedly standing on the corner of Monastery Street and Bernard Road when occupants of a silver coloured Japanese car approached him. Two men got out of the car with handguns and chased him through the corner near a house where he collapsed.

 The victim, believed to be in his 20s, was not known to police.

 His death came after a bloody holiday weekend that saw four killed in 48 hours.

 Commissioner Fernander described the weekend as “rough”, with police responding to numerous crime scenes.

 He said police see no connection among the murder incidents.

 He also spoke about a viral video showing a group of boys fighting at Carnival, one of whom was lying in the grass while another boy stomped him in his face.

 A girl screamed in the video: “They jicking him.”

 “We say to parents, you have to know where your kids are,” Commissioner Fernander said. “And some of the parents who’ve seen the video know that that’s their child and they should reach out to the police. And we will not let those kids disrupt family orientation events like the Carnival and Junkanoo.”