CASTRIES, St. Lucia, Nv 20, CMC -Police say they will “spare no effort or resources” in arresting those involved in the brazen day light shootings in the heart of the capital that left one man dead and people scrambling for cover.
N a statement, the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (RSLPF), acknowledging that Monday’s daylight shooting near the Derek Walcott Square had left citizens in fear and panic.
They have identified the dead man as Jahiem Papius of Baboneau, north of here, who was pronounced dead at the scene by a medical practitioner. The authorities said another man, whom they did not identify, is in a critical condition at hospital.
“We will spare no effort or resource to ensure that the perpetrators are expeditiously brought to justice. Such lawlessness cannot and will not be tolerated,” said Assistant Commissioner of Police, Luke Defreitas, adding that investigators have been pursuing leads since the shooting.
“The enablers who harbour those criminal elements are, in our view, worse than those who pull the trigger. Because of you, crime persists,” he said, appealing to the public for assistance in tracking down the killers.
Eyewitnesses said that the gunmen fled the scene on a motorcycle, leaving bystanders scrambling for cover and the two victims, bleeding from gunshot wounds, on the grass of Derek Walcott Square.
Acting Prime Minister, Dr. Ernest Hilaire, in a statement, described the shooting as ‘totally unacceptable,” adding “we really regret the incident that took place.
“It is a time for us as a government to again assert our intention to strengthen the laws against persons engaged in such activities,” he said, noting that the government has increased the penalties “and it seems to we have to further and increase the penalties”.
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