At the time of the shooting which took place on Thursday, July 20th, at a beach in West End, the Premier, Dr. Ellis L. Webster, was off island attending the ECCB’s 105th Meeting of the Monetary Council held in St. Vincent and he Grenadines. During the House of Assembly meeting on Monday, July 24th he denounced the senseless shooting, saying it was a sad day for Anguilla, and it can have a negative effect on our tourism industry.
“It was a sad day on Thursday, Madam Speaker, while I was travelling, the Premier reflected. “That day, I had gotten word that there was another senseless shooting, at Meads Bay. These concerns are prevalent throughout the Caribbean. In fact, it was there in St. Vincent where [five] murders took place the night before I got there.
“These are incidents that are foreign to us as a people,” the Premier said, “but they are becoming more and more matters that we have to deal with. Certainly, we pray for those who have gotten injured, and we even pray for the perpetrator(s) that they would change their stance and take on a more positive way of dealing with their differences, because we know that this has far reaching effects, not only for the families that are involved but for the community and for the country at large.”
We are a tourist destination,” he said, “and these negative incidences can impact us significantly. I hope that our people will continue to realize that what happens here does not just stay here. It spreads like wild fire throughout the region and thorough the world, and it most likely will have a negative impact upon us.
“I appeal to the people of Anguilla,” he implored, “to be cautious especially with the upcoming Summer Festival at hand. Let us govern ourselves accordingly in a manner where we care about each other and be safe in our going out and in our coming in.”
Meanwhile, Premier Webster took the opportunity to once again say thanks for the efforts of the Royal Anguilla Police Force in dealing with the incident(s), and particularly for the work of the “fairly new” Commissioner of Police, Mr. Robert Clark.
