by Eulana Weekes
St. Kitts and Nevis (WINN): The Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis recorded its 13th and 14th murder due to gun violence on Monday morning, June 05 2023.
The Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force confirmed that a male and female were killed on Rectory Road, Greenlands.
Police were on the scene to carry out the first phase of their investigations.
The June 05 murders were the 2nd double homicide in the Federation for the year 2023. The first double homicide occurred in Stapleton Village St. Peters on Saturday, March 25.
The double homicide came eight days after the murder of Rashaaun Hopkins of Lower Thibou Avenue on May 27, 2023.
The recent spate of murders raised concerns about the effectiveness of the Alternative LLifestyle Pathway Programme, known colloquially as the Peace Programme and also brought into question the Government’s ability to curb the scourge of gun violence in the country.
Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew in an interview with SKN Vibe’s Jermine Abel said St.Kitts and Nevis will be onboard with the CARICOM’s initiative of tackling acts of crime and violence from a public health standpoint.
“Well of course, I will continue to speak about it. I was in Trinidad and Tobago a few weeks ago where we expected that there would be an increase in acts throughout the Caribbean and CARICOM was there charting a new course of looking at violence from a public health perspective and that is what we are going to implement here; and at the same time, here in St.Kitts and Nevis, we call for people to do what is right and refrain from negative activities. The Government will do what it has to do.”
Eighty percent of the homicides committed within the past decade were carried out by firearms, said Former Commissioner of Police Hilroy Brandy during a graduation ceremony for police officers in January 2022. He also admonished officers to step up their game, as the Federation saw an average of 21 homicides between 2012 and 2021.
Statistics for the period 2012 to 2022 showed that in 2012 there were 18 homicides, 21 in 2013, 24 in 2014, 29 in 2015, 32 in 2016, 23 in 2017, 23 in 2018, 12 in 2019, 10 in 2020, 13 in 2021 and 12 in 2022.
