St. Vincent police have cancelled all vacation and no-pay leave for officers until further notice as lawmen move to prevent possible reprisals following the murders of five people in the capital, Kingstown, on Wednesday night.
A circular issued by the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force, said that the gazetted officers also decided to restructure the leave system for police officers and that Divisional commanders were also ordered to inform ranks under their command.
Commissioner of Police, Colin John, told a joint press conference with acting Prime Minister Montgomery Daniel and other members of the Cabinet that the police force had received intelligence “about possible reprisals.”
“And that is something that we are taking very seriously. We’re also taking this shooting, these fatalities very seriously, as we do with every crime, especially serious crimes within St. Vincent Grenadines,” John said.
He said that police intelligence suggests that some of the killings in St. Vincent and the Grenadines are linked and the majority of major crimes are committed by fewer than 100 people.
“… less than 100 persons in a population of over 110,000 persons. So that’s a small group of persons. And also, based on our intelligence, these shootings, the majority of them, they as a result of something that … happened since 2014, where some drug transaction went wrong and then persons who are friends then became foe and then it continued up to today,” John said as he attempted to assure citizens the country is “generally safe”.
John said that the police had acted on that intelligence “so much so that some persons who were killed (Wednesday night), we had spoken to them before and that … assisted in preserving their lives up to last night, based on proactive policing”.
John said that the police had received a report of gunshots in the Harbour Club area, located towards the eastern end of Kingstown, near the Grenadines Wharf and when officers responded,” they met four people who appeared to me dead and a fifth was transported to the hospital for medical attention.
“At the end of the night, five persons were pronounced dead by the doctor,” John said.
They have been named as Lamont Hector aka “Dutchie”, Jamal “Dutty” Bobb, Dondre Hillocks; Ricky Taylor, who all died at the scene while 13-year-old student, Kashie Primus, died at hospital.
Media reports said that those who were found dead at the scene had bullet wounds to their heads, as well as about their body.
This gives credence to the theory that the assailants first opened fire with an assault weapon John said he had heard a voice note alleging that the killings were as a result of a criminal interaction between people here and overseas and suggesting that more shootings would take place.
“Well, I have heard the voice note. And we are following all leads. This investigation is in its infancy at this stage. And we are following every lead. So, it’s something that we are checking out,” John said.
“Based on the crime scene, an assault weapon appears to have been used. And as I said, notwithstanding that, I can guarantee that persons in St. Vincent are generally safe,” John said, adding that nowhere in the world is totally safe, hence his “proviso that generally speaking, we’re safe.
“We’ll have the isolated incidents as it was, and we’re nowhere trivialising it. And we are concerned about persons’ feelings and person’s perception, hence, the police, we are putting things in place to allay those fears, and to mitigate against those situations occurring in the future.”
He defended the police against criticisms that it was slow to react to the shooting, saying that a senior officer responded quickly to the scene and was “able to give us pertinent information as to what may have transpired at the time”.
Media reports said that a law enforcement officer, who was relatively close by, heard the gunshots and was about to respond to the scene when a white vehicle in which the assailants are believed to have been travelling, came speeding down the road.
The officer gave chase in his private vehicle but is said to have lost the vehicle after a minibus swung into the traffic, — presumably inadvertently — causing the vehicle to escape.
John did not disclose whether the police had identified or taken into custody the vehicle that was seen and filmed driving away from the scene immediately after the shooting. “Well, that is something that I will not divulge at this moment. Sorry.”
There have also been shootings in different parts of the island over recent months, and John said “yes, some of them that are linked to each other”.
He said that the homicides across the country are “at various stages of investigation, based on the evidence that we have, the statements that we have so far. The process will be, once we collect the statements, we’ll discuss it with the office of the DPP and the DPP would give us advice or opinion as to the way forward.”
He said police officers would be more visible on the streets and the public might encounter some inconveniences as a result.
“But we ask persons to understand and we also ask persons with information relating to this mass murder to come forward and provide police with information. The police, with all of its technology and intel, cannot solve crime on its own,” he added.
The killings Wednesday night brought the homicide count this year to 35, seven of which were recorded in the last 36 hours.
“It is not a good statistic. And the police, we have gone back to the drawing board. We have looked at ways in which we can improve what we are doing. We have implemented certain policies within the organisation.
I will not go into the details as regards them at this moment,” he said, adding that criminals might also be listening to the press conference.
“But I just want to give the public the assurance that St. Vincent is a safe place, notwithstanding what has taken place.”
