Attorney General Dale Marshall has called on Barbadians to adopt a “zero tolerance” for guns and anyone dealing with these illegal firearms.
Speaking during a press conference on Friday, Marshall urged citizens to take a tough stance particularly in the aftermath of four shooting deaths in three days, taking the number of homicides for the year to 28.
“If your son or daughter, your boyfriend or girlfriend is involved in that way of life, bringing guns in the house, hiding them under the mattress, tell them not with you…. If you, your partner, your mother, your father, your brother, your sister, whoever it is, is involved in that way of life, zero tolerance means that we have a vested interest in telling them to … get out of that way of life….
“I understand this is a difficult conversation; it will be hard for some because some of the members of the public may rely on these individuals for support. They may say, well I can’t do this to my child’s father…. But the fact is that if you don’t, you have to accept that you may well become a casualty because you support that particular way of life.”
Marshall expressed the view that a whole country approach must be adopted to deal with the crime situation.
“The statistics in relation to the other crimes are down. So, if we’ve been able to quell the other kinds of criminal activity using particular interventions and methods, there’s no reason why we should not be able to succeed in firearm crimes by using the same approach….
“It will require steady, diligent work on the part of the police service, on the part of the government and equally important, on the part of the people of Barbados,” he stressed.
Stating that the recent homicides were not random shootings, the attorney general said this spate of instability is being caused by two or three groups that are engaging in feuding and recriminations.
He gave the assurance that the island remains a safe place, with citizens being safe in their homes and communities. He said the country had not descended into any state of anarchy. However, he acknowledged that the current spike could have a severe effect on the country and the way of life of its people.
Stressing that “this gun play must stop,” he asserted that “we have it within our power to stop it.” He noted that law and order is a priority for government, and this was evident by the fact that every time the Barbados Police Service asked for resources or equipment, the administration had tried to put them in place.
CMC/
