The above statement is a cry of anguish and despair over the irretrievable and terrible loss every time a young person is gunned down in Anguilla in an untimely, gruesome and puzzling death. It is correspondingly painful when such a heinous crime has all the trappings of sophistication in its conception and execution, defying detection, a solution, and bringing the perpetrator(s) to swift justice. Such appears to be the murder of a hapless young man in Anguilla several days ago as he walked towards his vehicle to head home after a long and otherwise uneventful day. Such a crime must send shockwaves across a tiny island, renting the hearts of a young wife, infants, mother, grandmother, siblings and other close-knit relatives, now left bereft and lonely.
One wonders in dismay, and even fear – what is overtaking Anguilla and why? It is a question left unanswered when one considers the large number of young men who are either dead, maimed and otherwise injured by gun violence over a few short years. And the crimes remain unsolved. And the criminals are still at large, God forbid, to cause more carnage and pain. And the guns are still on the streets. And nobody with helpful information and vital intelligence is talking to the Police whether out of fear, retribution or simply not wanting to get involved. “There is enough blood and enough deaths,” one influential Minister of Religion echoed from his pulpit while referring to this latest shooting incident – the first gun-related death for 2016 and at the turn of the year. Some people, unable to comprehend what is happening in Anguilla, tell themselves that we are in the last days of evil and mourning of which the Bible speaks and hold to that view. Be that as it may, there is one similarity recorded in the Bible to which the string of murders and the need for punishment in Anguilla may be compared – to some extent. It is that, like the killing of Abel by his brother Cain, whose blood cried out for justice from the dust, so is the blood of our murdered young men crying out for the just punishment of those who wickedly and mercilessly killed them. To deny them that justice is to fail to be our brothers’ keepers. Those who have information to impart and withhold it for one reason or another must live with seared consciences and mental torment for the rest of their lives.
The current murder, those murders committed previously and the other unsolved shooting incidents that caused injuries, are not only sad cases in the Police files, but must be sources of worry to our law enforcement agents. Each serious and sophisticated crime puts a great burden on the Police who must now galvanize themselves to explore more ways and means of detecting and solving crime. This may either be attainable by their own improved methods of policing and investigation, or with the support of the community through tact and cooperation which they must somehow harness and win. The situation is compounded by the fact, however, that even before one matter can be properly investigated, another crime occurs causing both distraction and delay.
One thing is certain. Our gun crime has reached alarming proportions to the extent that personal safety has become a great concern perhaps for everyone. We cannot continue to have this kind of violence and death in Anguilla – destroying the lives of our productive young men who in the future may probably be trendsetters in our island; destroying the fabric of the community; and threatening our vital tourism industry. The clarion call is loud and clear. Enough is enough!
