The nine suspects taken into custody for a shooting which left six men injured have all been released without charge.
Police PRO Inspector Zenhastel Hector told The Observer that the men were released, and that police have not arrested anyone else in connection to the shooting.
On Tuesday, July 20, at 2:23 p.m. six men liming in an alley connecting Millionaire Street to St. Johnson Avenue were shot at by an unknown number of gunmen.
The men, Thuan “Assassin” Audain of Haynes Smith; Utendale “Utee” Whyte, Jahari “Bad Ass” Hazel, and Steve “Butt Me” Henry of St. Johnston; Shedrick Tucker of Laguerite; and Maurice “Killa” Dublin of Lime Kiln were all hospitalized with gunshot injuries.
The Observer was reliably informed that some of the victims remain warded at JNF Hospital. Inspector Henry said that to date the motive for the crime was still unknown.
“We have not been able to ascertain why the men were shot at, as that kind of information has not been relayed to us. Police are still not sure how many assailants carried out the shooting nor did they get any detailed description of any of the gunmen. Right now we do not have any other suspects,” he said.
The Chamber of Industry and Commerce (CIC) has called the Police Force’s effectiveness into question, highlighting its low crime detection rate. The CIC asserted in a recent statement that the time had come for the government to consider procuring “outside expertise” to get a handle on the crime surge.
“The Federation can ill afford to dawdle on this critical decision, neither can the Country afford the socio-economic fall-out that will result from continued, unchecked and unsolved criminal activity. The well documented abysmal detection rate for all categories of crime serves as a loud wake-up call for all concerned. We wish to see results-oriented expenditure of any financial assistance provided to us to strengthen the fight against crime,” the communiqué said.
The government’s recent appointment of former Attorney General Dr. Dennis Merchant, and former Commissioner of Police Robert Jeffers as consultants in the Ministry of National Security has been met with intense and widespread criticism.
Merchant and Jeffers were assigned to “give support in prosecutorial and investigative matters to the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force,” according to a government release.
Opposition Leader Hon. Mark Brantley spoke exclusively to The Observer after the appointments were announced. He said the move was an indication that Prime Minister Dr. Denzil Douglas and National Security Minister Hon. Sam Condor were at a loss for ideas on how best to solve the escalating crime problem.
“The appointments of Mr. Merchant and Mr. Jeffers are retrograde steps which confirm that the Prime Minister and Minister of National Security are bereft of ideas on how to address this cancer of crime and criminality. I am not sure what they can offer by way of advice now to fix the problem when they presided as Attorney General and Minister of Justice, and Commissioner of Police over the very escalation of crime that they are now called upon to solve,” he said.
Brantley went on, “This is nonsense thinking by an intellectually bankrupt Labour/NRP Government.” |
