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A young man was shot dead in West Bay late Tuesday night in what his family thinks was a retaliatory attack.
Royal Cayman Islands Police Service officials said they had not ruled out the potential the incident may have been gang-related, however investigators refused to speculate as to a specific motive for the killing.
The man who was shot, Robert Macford Bush, 28, is the first homicide victim this year in the Cayman Islands.
“I know who did it,” said Irvalyn Bush, Mr. Bush’s sister, weeping as she talked on Wednesday morning. “I know that they will pay and God will make them pay.”
According to the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service, Mr. Bush’s Honda was seen on Captains Joe and Osbert Road near Birch Tree Hill Road around 11.20pm Tuesday.
Mr. Bush, who was inside the vehicle, had been shot in the head and could not be revived by CPR. Police said armed officers – who were on West Bay Road at the time of the shooting conducting traffic checks – arrived on the scene within five minutes after the killing was reported.
No arrests were reported by press time Wednesday.
“We don’t think this was an accident, put it that way,” said RCIPS Chief Superintendent John Jones. “It’s clear that somebody had a motive and this is for us to establish.”
The 911 call came from a woman who was inside the Honda with Mr. Bush at the time the shooting occurred. She was thought to have been hit by pellets from a shotgun that was fired into the car, according to witnesses. However, she survived the attack and was released from the hospital Wednesday morning.
It was believed several shots were fired in the direction of the vehicle while it was on Captains Joe and Osbert Road, possibly with more than one weapon, by suspects who approached the car on foot. However, police commanders could not immediately confirm how many shots were fired, how many weapons were used or how many suspects were involved in the attack.
Shortly after the shooting, there was also a brief scuffle reported at the crime scene that involved the woman who survived the attack and another female. Police said they were aware of the incident and that “appropriate action would be taken”.
The Caymanian Compass spoke with Mr. Bush’s family members who told the newspaper they believed the Tuesday night shooting was done in retaliation for an attack in late July that occurred in the vicinity of a West Bay bar known as Club Inferno.
Mr. Bush was one of three men charged in connection with that incident. Police officers said a man was assaulted outside the club by a group of suspects who struck him on the head with a bottle and threatened him with a firearm. The injured man from the July attack was taken to the hospital for treatment and survived.
Another man involved in the 27 July attack outside the club had recently been acquitted in connection with the March 2010 killing of Alrick Peddie, 25, in West Bay. However, Mr. Bush – the victim from Tuesday’s homicide – had nothing to do with the March 2010 shooting, police said.
Irvalyn Bush said she believed the attack against her brother Tuesday was a clear retaliation.
“Absolutely, I think that’s what it was,” she said. “I don’t know why they really wanted to kill him. They just hated him because he kept to himself.”
Mr. Bush had a seven year old daughter, family members said.
Anyone with information about the killing is asked to call West Bay Police Station at 949-3999 or Cayman Crime Stoppers at 800-8477.
Trouble spot
The shooting follows two armed attacks last week in West Bay where a woman was car jacked and a man was stabbed and shot at. The stabbing occurred on Stadium Drive, just down the road from Tuesday night’s shooting.
“We would just ask that people remain calm,” said RCIPS Chief Superintendent John Jones. “We know it’s very concerning to the community in West Bay.”
Mr. Jones said two of the three attacks – including Tuesday night’s killing – were obviously targeted at specific individuals. He said the third attack, the robbery of a Dolphin Discovery worker, was still being investigated.
Although Grand Cayman has not seen a killing since 1 October, 2010, police expressed concern about what has happened in the recent past along Birch Tree Hill Road.
In addition to Tuesday’s homicide, the stretch of road has recently seen the shooting death of Damion Ming in March 2010 and the killing of Tyrone Burrell in September 2010. Mr. Burrell’s was the last gun-related homicide to occur in the Cayman Islands.
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West Bay has always been crime ridden. The elected officials have never issued a statement or a policy on public safety. Now is their chance to call for all citizens of the Nation to call the police crime unity and identify the criminals they know of. This can only come from our Premiere. Let us see if he is man enough to do it for the good of our country.
Where ever the formal justice system is appeared to be broken then a street justice system rises up and takes its place. The Cayman justice system needs to be overhauled and fixed.
My condolences go out to the family of this young man lost in such an early stage of life. Regardless of the problem, taking the law into your own hands is never an acceptable solution..
Cayman is traveling down a slippery slope of crime from which most countries fail to recover; where in the name of control we freely give up our liberties in order for authorities to re-establish order.
Once given up these liberties are rarely returned..
If West Bay has not as yet felt their freedom of movement infringed on yet, you can bet time soon come..
I’ve been listening to all the reports and I too sympathize with the family of the victim. These are very sad days for the Cayman Islands as its reputation is changing rapidly from positive to negative.
However, the Governor, the Premier, the Commissioner of Police, and the entire legislature is STILL LETTING THE PEOPLE DOWN despite what they tell you they are doing about crime, they have neglected the most IMPORTANT ISSUE FACING THIS COUNTRY!
IMPORTATION .
Yes, when was the last time did the police report that they intercepted a shipload or a truck load of guns and drugs coming across our boarders?.
Why is it that the Commissioner of Police and the RCIP not STOPPED THE IMPORTATION OF GUNS AND DRUGS coming into the Cayman Islands. Its NO use confiscating the guns from the little thugs, they are dirt poor. The RCIP need to get their hands on the Big guys not just the little peons on the street running wild! Gun amnesty is not good enough if you are not going to hunt down and bring to justice the King Pin that is behind putting the guns and drugs into the hands of these young people. The youths simply do NOT have a budget to import so many guns and drugs so it is the RCIP responsibility to FIND AND IMPRISON FOR LIFE these individuals who are financing purchasing guns overseas and importing them into the Cayman Islands.
The Leader of the opposition Mr. Alden McLaughlin and the UDP leader and premier Mr. McKeeva Bush have a duty to the people of the Cayman Islands to ROOT out this evil from our midst and put Mr. David Baines on notice that if he can not arrest, bring to justice and investigate professionally making a good case for the prosecution then he has failed. The King Pin that is responsible for putting weapons in the hands of our youth to kill us and kill themselves with must bre brought to justice. the Drug Lords that keep poisoning our children with drugs must be prosecuted, tried and imprisoned for life or Mr. Baines need to find another job. Just that simple. Its no use having an RCIP malfunctioning if it’s performance can not yield positive and satisfactory results like sending evil weapons dealers and drug lords to prison for life. Someone seems to be afraid of these people and it is a shame, it seems they are running this country.
I dare say that if the police can not intercept a plane load or boat load of guns or guns, being imported to our shores on a weekly, or monthly basis, then it only means one thing there is a LEAK somewhere in your RCIP systems. Somebody is tipping off the King Pin and is on his A’PAYROLL It has to be it is obvious, as you are not making any progress but in fact is moving backwards instead of forward. You need to tap the phones of all investigators and especially those charged to intercept guns and drugs coming into the country. I strongly suspect that there is a weak link an evil link in the RCIP that is allerting the criminals each time the drug force plans to make a raid or if a shipment is coming in they leak the information to the drug lords and therefore the police is too little too late each time. If this were not true, then how is it that there is so much drugs and guns on our streets? Something is wrong on the inside of the RCIP!
OR
A Big shot friend of the politicians is involved and he is untouchable. At least so the idiots think.
Hand his good for nothing ass over to the US like they did Dudas, and I do believe RCIP know who is bringing in guns and drugs to this country. I bet you if he’s wanted in eh Cayman Islands then indeed he’s wanted in the US for trafficking drugs and guns from the Cayman Islands to the US as well. So Baines, do your job or face embarrassment when the US catches them for you because they WILL. I guess that’s what you are waiting on?
That’s it…I am bringing my real gun to Pirates Week this year!
My heart goes out to his immediate family as I am family as well.
It is very sad how the crime levels have risen in the Cayman Islands in the last few years.
I have two cousins in the police force who have both told me they spend alot of their time writing incident reports and attending court hearings. Now if the government and commissioner really wanted to do something about the crime level, wouldn’t they hire at least a few assistances to assist the police with their incident reports, (with their 25M Surplus) or even have signed affidavits from the police officers for the courts to use, so that they can be more visible on the roads and help fight this crime wave.
Unfortunately, humans are reactive not proactive to solutions. So until it happens to one of the big shots or their close family we WON’t see a change.
Sad but true. This is a great example of Karma. Do bad things and very bad things will come to you. On the other hand do good your whole life and many good things come your way. I really don’t care if they catch the other guy(s) because their lives are already the lowest form of existence and getting lower, by choice mind you. This is not about religion, this is just about Karma. Sometimes instantaneously and sometimes several months in the making, as this one bears it out. Shame on the parents for not instilling Karma in their children.