Mother, daughter shot dead

A mother and her young daughter were discovered shot to death in a Nassau Village home early yesterday, police said.

The mother appeared to be about 30 and the girl about 10, police said. 

Assistant Superintendent Audley Peters, who spoke with reporters at the scene, said the bodies were found in a bedroom.

Peters said police were following a “promising lead” in regards to the matter.

These latest homicides happened just over a week after Reyes Williams, seven, was killed in a drive-by shooting in front of his mother’s house in Nassau Village.

Police do not think the murders of the mother and daughter are connected to the boy’s shooting, however.

They believe the latest homicides were domestic-related. 

“The home is supposed to be the safest place,” Peters said.

 “Apparently, for a long time in our community, that has not been the case in all aspects, and so whenever complaints come to the attention of the police, we seek to act on [them] as quick as possible…however, in some instances individuals make reports to the police and they return and decide not to continue with those reports.”

Khandi Gibson, president of a local advocacy group, Families of All Murder Victims (FOAM), was also on the scene. Gibson said while she did not know the victims, more must be done to protect residents.

“Just last week, we lost seven-year-old Reyes,” Gibson said.

“I think now more churches need to be involved now. The churches need to open their doors, not just only on Sundays, but be open, so when persons have their grievances, they could feel comfortable going to the church.”

A recent Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) report examined by The Nassau Guardian on the weekend stated that roughly 82 percent of homicides in The Bahamas were committed with firearms, the highest rate in the region.

The report, “Survey of Individuals Deprived of Liberty: Caribbean (2016 – 2019)”, examined data from six Caribbean countries: The Bahamas, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.

“The Bahamas has the highest rate of weapons in the hands of civilians (Small Arms Survey, 2017) and ranks first in terms of the presence of weapons in homicides and third place in terms of the presence of weapons in other crimes (IDB, 2017),” the report read.

“Thus, in The Bahamas, the high rate of weapons in the hands of the civilian population aligns with the high presence of weapons in crimes committed (IDB, 2017).”

 With 19 firearms per 100 inhabitants, The Bahamas had the highest rate of firearm ownership, according to the report.

In a statement that ran in The Nassau Guardian yesterday, former crime commission chairman, Bishop Simeon Hall, said apathy and indifference to crime, remain the major reasons for the prevalence of criminality in our country.

“Too many criminals carry out their lawlessness impervious to the pain they bring to their parents and other family members. But their acts are sustained by the silence of family members who often benefit from their crimes committed,” Hall said.

“Family members who know of and benefit from crime, have blood on their hands.”

Minister of National Security Marvin Dames was scheduled to deliver a report to the nation yesterday, but that has been postponed to a date not yet announced. 

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