Two shootings linked, police say
A pair of deadly shootings that occurred this week in West Bay are the result of a gang-style dispute between groups of young men in two areas of the district, Royal Cayman Islands Police said Friday.
“Our worst fears have been realised,” said RCIPS Chief Superintendent John Jones.
“We have strong grounds to believe both of these murders are gang-related and relate to a resumption of a feud between factions or gangs….from the Logwoods area and the Birch Tree Hill area,” Mr. Jones said, referring to separate West Bay neighbourhoods.
Less than 48 hours after Robert Macford Bush was gunned down Tuesday night, another young man was shot dead in West Bay.
Royal Cayman Islands Police confirmed the male died from gunshot wounds just before 9pm Thursday on Sand Hole Road.
Police said the victim was hanging out with a group of friends at a yard on Sand Hole Road when two gunmen approached them from behind the house. The group scattered just as shots were being fired, police said.
Witnesses reported the victim had been shot in the head. A special constable who was in the area at the time of the shooting reported hearing two or three gunshots. However, other witnesses reported hearing as many as four.
No one else was hurt in the shooting.
The victim was later identified as Andrew Anthony Baptist, 24, of West Bay.
Mr. Baptist’s name had come up in connection with Tuesday night’s slaying of Mr. Bush, according to RCIPS Superintendent Marlon Bodden.
“Our investigation [into Mr. Bush’s killing] did feature that name [Andrew Baptist] being mentioned,” Mr. Bodden said. However, the police service’s chief investigator would only identify Mr. Baptist as a person of interest in connection with the earlier shooting and did not state whether he was believed to have been a witness or a suspect.
No arrests were immediately reported in either shooting. Royal Cayman Islands Police cordoned off a wide area around the shooting scene Thursday night and were searching the ground and air for any sign of the suspects. Helicopter patrols over West Bay continued late into the night.
Precisely what touched off the gang feud was not clear. Mr. Bush’s family members have said they believed his shooting was in retaliation for an attack in July on a man outside a local bar. Mr. Bush had been charged in that attack and released from jail prior to his trial.
However, Mr. Jones said the July assault outside West Bay’s Club Inferno was somewhat minor, and noted some time had passed since the incident.
In any case, Mr. Jones said it appeared the nature of the dispute between the two rival factions appeared to be “quite juvenile”.
Superintendent.Bodden, a native Caymanian, was a bit more blunt in describing the situation.
“It is ridiculous,” he said. “These individuals who have undertaken to destroy their own Island…it really angers me.”
Please check back with www.caycompass.com for further updates on this developing story….
Police crime scene techs have lots of evidence to review in the wake of Thursday night’s homicide.
Brent Fuller
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RCIPS officers question everyone leaving the area of the police cordon Thursday night.
Brent Fuller
Police busy at Thursday night’s crime scene, the second in 48 hours in West Bay.
Dennie Warren Jr
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And so it continues. If every shooting causes ripples, then we have some pretty big waves being made around here now.
People in the Cayman Islands can slag off Jamaica all they wish, they’ve been doing so for generations now but
I guarantee any resident of the Cayman Islands, if this was happening in any area in Jamaica or on a national scale, as is happening in Cayman…
The Jamaica Government would by now have declared a full or partial State of Emergency, suspended civil liberties under the Constitution of Jamaica, and..
Put the Jamaica Defense Force on the streets to put their soldiers boots up the backsides of the common murderers threatening the peace and safety of the country.
In so many ways, the Cayman Islands, and Britain btw, is looking like corrupt, inept countries to the rest of the world right now.
WHO’S IN CHARGE?
Murder has come home to our Premiere in a very embarrassing way. He has always turned a blind eye, deaf ear, closed mouth and mind even while leading our nation. Two murders back to back in his own district of West Bay, the most crime ridden district in our country where our Premiere has represented for so very long and never addressed the situation. He has allowed it to creep out and cover the nation. He only made a move when it started to affect our tourist product because it was obvious he did not hear the cries of the people. Business and the opposition members of Parliament dropped the hammer and that is when he seen the error of his inaction.
We shall see if Mr. Bush will lead a revolt against the criminal elements of this country. We shall see if he will ask the nation to inform on the real thugs and thieves by reporting them to a police crime unit hot line so we can finally go to bed without waking up to a knife at our throat or our kids being shot at the playground. We shall see just how far Mr. Bush will go and who is in charge him or the criminals? I’m all eyes.
This is for the young people. Know this saying well: IF YOU FIGHT WITH THE SWORD, YOU DIE WITH THE SWORD. WHATEVER YOU DO IN LIFE HAS CONSEQUENCES TO THE BAD COMPANY YOU KEEP.
This is realy scary when we visted your island i would take my wife to sand hole road and park at the very end by the water. She loved to look for keyhole shells on the beach there. It seemed like a quite place. People of the cayman islands stand together and stay strong. Only the good people of your island can make this go away.
I am so sick and tired of reading the news and hearing of another life snuffed out. It can be presumed that this is probably a revenge shooting for the other shooting – gang A shoots a member of gang B so gang B shoots a member of gang A! Part of me wonders whether we should let them continue to do so; at the current rate of shootings we shall see in the not so distant future they will have eventually wiped each other out. That will leave these beautiful isles to be enjoyed by people that want to live in harmony and less scared of getting caught in the cross fire of a poorly aimed shot!
Im sure their mothers/fathers/sons/daughters are so proud to say my boi/papi is ace with a gun and garners fear wherever he goes – but sadly 22 escapes him. Hard work for some money is not as cool as earning more money through illegal means – we cant expect them to look honest to their homies as thats just not tough or cool; the coolest some of these will be, and it pains me to say it, is when they end up in the refrigerator in the morgue or on the morticians slab!! As a nation, we should not blame the police (they can not be expected to baby sit these morons 24 hours a day!)we should not blame the expats, we should not blame the families (these criminals are not children anymore) it is high time that these people start realising that when they play big boy games they play by big boy rules – this is not the movies, people die and they need to change their ways or accept the consequences of their actions and realise that the future of the island depends on the decision they make!
Only way to nip this quickly is for your govt to offer a reward for information. A show of force is one thing but may not solve the current crisis right away. Like someone else posted the police cannot be everywhere. Plus your govt needs time to proper execute a task force to address the issue.
Your island is small and from what I’ve read your people are or used to be close to one another. Someone has to know who’s behind this so it’s time to step up and work together.
I like your island, country, people and would like to work there someday. You’ve got a little slice of paradise so don’t let these jerks continue to cast a dark shadow over your community.
Bri
I agree with Firey, if we had a defense force their boots should be up into the asses of the criminals by now. Why not send next door for the Jamaica JDF and let them clean up this mess? David Baines and the Governor just to save their British faces is too embarrassed to ask for help? they don’t mind Caymanians getting killed? what happens if a bullet strays and hits one of them? will they call it a drive by or a stray bullet?
But WEST BAYERS TOP THE CAYMAN ISLANDS WITH THE BLAME FOR HAVING THE MOST HINEOUS CRIMES IN THEIR DISTRICT AHD HERE’S WHY..You are the reason Cayman has a bad name.
You people have surpassed being stupid everyone of you for electing McKeeva Bush who spends all his time with rich people like Ryan and Dart and not trying to stop crime for you stupid dunces who keep electing him.
ROLSTON ANGLIN told you that as Caymanians including YOU West Bayers, are NOT EMPLOYABLE. Change the way you vote and vote for good people who do not worship the dollar nor sell the island and give your children’s future away to Dart and Ryan two rich foreigners that can not help you but are HELPING THEMSELVES. MCKEEVA BUSH IS HELPING HIMSELF AND NOT WEST BAYERS There is no hope for people who refuse to change how they vote, so let us treat them as the Republic of West Bay and build a wall to separate West Bay from the rest of the Cayman Islands. They are just too much darned trouble in every way.
WHILE WE FEEL SYMPATHETIC FOR THE FAMILIES LOSING a member,lets face the truth;-
PEOPLE USUALLY GET WHAT THEY DESERVE. UNTIL WEST BAYERS START ELECTING PEOPLE WHO THINK THEY DESERVE A JOB IN THEIR COUNTRY AND STOP PUTTING PEOPLE ON WORK PERMITS THAT THE YOUNG PEOPLE SHOULD BE WORKING IN so they have no choice but to sell drugs and deal guns and rob businesses and join gangs. I have not heard one West Bayer in this forum blame McKeeva Bush, Rolston, CG or Eugene Ebanks for the crimes in West Bay even though THESE MLA’s West Bs.elected ARE DOING NOTHING TO FIND THEM JOBS WHEN THEY COME OUT OF PRISON AND ARE DOING NOTHING TO FIND THEM JOBS WHEN THEY GRADUATE FROM SCHOOL, but are left to the dogs.
They brought these sufferings on THEMSELVES.Being stubborn, and big headed, there is no hope for people who think that he or she knows it all.
Let not kid ourselfs people knows who’s doing these crimes in the community. Not until police kill one or two of these no good thugs before you will see stop in senselees killing. Do you really think these thugs give a dorn to all fancy talk on the radio or in the paper.They are not afraid of your so call prison, oh yea vacation destination. Kill one and see what happen. Stop living in the pass and attend to present and the future, your future is at stake.
Well said Fire Ant.
Peace is maintained through the continual threat of overwhelming use of force. As soon as Baines realizes this, the sooner this community will become safer.
Law abiding citizens do not need to fear this force because they do not commit crimes. Criminal should fear this force at ALL TIMES. Because _obviously_ they _don’t_ now.
We have cops out there the criminals would have no problems trying to evade or even shoot at. The criminals _know_ they are unarmed and will naturally timid. Who in their right mind would try to apprehend an armed criminal with a baton??
Which policeman out there will lunge into an armed robbery or some kind of shootout?? None, and I don’t blame them.
The state of affairs with the police is completely unacceptable. And in my opinion its systemic from a philosophy from the top down.
I can’t think of any place in modern cities where this level of crime can go on completely unchallenged to the point its actually encouraging to commit violent crimes.
If you really think if makes a difference who is elected to office, well then you are living in a dream world. All these cowardly gangster-wanna-bes care about is quick and easy money, which is made through controling the sale of illegal drugs on the island! It will take decades to take the long route to implement a leader in government who is willing to take the nesaccery steps to create a community program to provide Caymans youth with direction, education and leadership, which still might not work. The crisis we have on our hands requires IMMEDIATE action if it is not going to be too late to recover from this useless violence that these brain dead fools are spreading across our island.
Put aside your political differences, stop pointing fingers, step up and take action!!! If we aren’t all very careful we might very well loose everything that this Island has worked so hard to build over the years.
Most residents of Cayman have never seen a ‘garrison community’; until now, that is.
West Bay is becoming Cayman’s ‘garrison community’.
By garrison community, I mean a community where armed gunmen run rampant with the protection, or at least the ‘non-action’ of the communities politicians.
When IRA gunmen began to rule the garrison communities of Northern Ireland, the British Govt. put the British Army on the streets of NI.
When armed gunmen think they can run Jamaica from the garrison communities of West Kingston, the Jamaican Govt. puts the soldiers of the JDF on the streets of Jamaica; when the gunmen in the USA think they can run their cities. the US Govt. puts the National Guard on the streets of the USA…and most other countries are the same.
The proven method of dealing with dangerous armed criminals is to kick their doors in, in the dead of night and take them out of their beds, dead or alive.
With what is obviously armed gang warfare going on in West Bay at the moment, why would the CI Govt. and police not anticipate the next murder, given all the evidence and history before them ?
And have their armed police units take care of business.
Does the Cayman Islands Govt and its police believe that they will bring this situation under control in any other way ?
I can imagine they are like the tit-for-tat posters on this forum who press the ‘thumbs down’ button in retaliation for every ‘thumbs up’ button pressed in agreement with people which they do not wish the public to hear the truth from…
This leads me to wonder…
Who really is behind these killings in West Bay…and the armed robberies taking place in George Town ?
I’m now beginning that this crime wave is not just the actions of random thugs running rampant on their own.
Another depressing headline greets me as i log in to take a look at what is happening in Grand Cayman ; not 1 bit 2 murders ……
I strongly urge the good people of Cayman to put pressure on the Authorities – this HAS to stop before your lovely little island is completely ruined by just a few thugs.
I grow increasingly concerned about the state of affairs on the island ; the Police seem to be totally ineffective – get some assistance from the US from Police that are used to violent crime. Time is running out.
The ROLLOVER policy needs to STAY in force
Cayman’s young people need jobs to keep off the streets involving crime. Our yearly Graduates need to have jobs to go to instead of on the street doing crimes.
GOVT. is to blame.
Somebody is handing these thugs guns to kill themselves with.
GOV. STUART
When is a new Comm of Police going to start work?
stopcrimenow – some good points. It is not really a political issue, whoever you elect, you will still have the same problems. Blaming the commissioner, you do know he is only one man, and he cannot actually change laws, and call out an army – he can only work to the powers he is granted.
Main problems – ill educated buffoons, watching too much TV, admiring their equally dumb friends, and thinking they’re soooo cool because they can intimidate a sizeable proportion of the community
People not giving vital information to the police
A police force so close to these idiots, it cannot be expected to perform. Imagine you’re an armed response officer, and you kill one of these numb nuts – within hours your own family/home will be targeted for ‘justice’ for their fallen ‘brethren’
A school system that produces ahem, ‘graduates’ unfit to work. How can you be considered a graduate without any academic basis? Perhaps give these young people something worthwhile to aspire to
If it turns out that it is an idiot-on-idiot killing, then I will find it very hard to have any sympathy.
For a solution…..I do not know, how can you reason with an unreasonable person? It just makes me extremely sad
I love how people find ways of blaming expats for their trouble. Cough cough Dubai cough cough.
The Rollover policy and the lack of jobs for Caymanians rhetoric is a crock. There are jobs in Cayman. It’s just that god-forbid a Caymanian has to wait tables or do some other thought-to-be-menial task when they are not educated to the standard to be become an accountant or lawyer.
If you want to work, go to work. Quit complaining and making excuses.
The gang violence in Cayman will not be resolved by the doing away with the Rollover policy. Get a grip.
Our worst fears have been realised, said RCIPS Chief Superintendent John Jones.
We have strong grounds to believe both of these murders are gang-related and relate to a resumption of a feud between factions or gangs….from the Logwoods area and the Birch Tree Hill area, Mr. Jones said, referring to separate West Bay neighbourhoods..
In any case, Mr. Jones said it appeared the nature of the dispute between the two rival factions appeared to be quite silly.
Superintendent.Bodden, a native Caymanian, was a bit more blunt in describing the situation.
It is ridiculous, he said. These individuals who have undertaken to destroy their own Island…it really angers me.
What should anger the tax-paying citizens of Cayman, is these statments made by their high-ranking, highly-paid public servants who they are paying to police the Cayman Islands and control the criminal element.
Its quite clear that these police know who and where these murders stem from, the areas where the gangs are at war…and this is all they have to offer Cayman’s citizens ?
If the Caymanians in Cayman cannot do something about this situation, there are alternatives here in Britain.
I am now advising the citizens of Cayman to write to Buckingham Palace directly in regards to the actions and statements emanating from the headquarters of the Royal Cayman Islands Police Force; every single British citizen has that right, as Jones, Baines and Duncan Taylor well knows.
This farce has gone far enough now.
Rupert says: Stop making kids you don’t really want.
Firey,
You are one of few Camanians with insight. Here is a comment I read in Caman 27 news. It makes more sense than anything I ever heard coming from the governor, premier, comm.police or the L.A. members’ mouth The Writer was named Lover of Cayman’ it reads:-
I am a visitor and love your island. But I have stopped going to Mexico and Jamaica because of crime, and will stop coming to Cayman if crime is not properly addressed. I am not being cynical by saying that you must always follow the money. When companies like DART believe their investments will be damaged, the politicians will jump. Cayman is running faster and faster straight into a brick wall. As an outsider a few things are very evident. You have a limited amount of space on the island. Population can not be allowed to grow as it has over the past decade. There is not enough economy on the island to accept a population explosion. There will be a collision between your lack of employment opportunity and population growth. Resentment will grow, as disenchanted youth see million dollar properties and well off visitors in a land that they have a hopeless ability to improve their lives. Drastic political decisions need to be made now, or your social system will disintegrate. Gang activity is a product of hopelessness, and inactivity. You must get a handle on population growth, and demand educational and job opportunity for your people. Singapore, a small city-state has virtually no crime. Their rules are unforgiving, but they work. You should consider incentives for Zero Population Growth, combined with greater educational funding, and job opportunity. Please act, before the social circumstances force changes that no one would wish for.
This post deserves a billion thumbs up. I hope ever MLA reads it.
Caymanian Compass needs to say it like it is…Second Killing in 2 Days! Why do they want to stretch it to 1 week….Christ we still have another 5 days to go…who knows what the final tally for 7 days could be!
I don’t profess to have any solutions but maybe we could Shoot them all and let God sort them out. Arm the police with guns…wait make that train them first before sending them out. A cute looking police force with no deadly force might look good on a Tourist Picture and help maintain a quaint carefree atmosphere…But holy cow you call this a quaint situation…It doesn’t do anything to make us sleep safer at night!
Why wait for the gang / drug to continue as they shoot only one at a time. Kick the doors in and shoot the lot if they reach for a gun….Let’s aim straight and get a two for one special and put some fear in the minds of these guys because they sure seem to operate without any fear at all of police interference.
In 2000 the Fiji Islands faced a similar social upheaval.The churches and christians got together (unity) and prayed for God’s intervention. God answered by sending them revival and a move of God that is still experienced today. The fish have returned to the water. They are growing huge fruits and vegetables. Prisoners are getting saved and a
great reduction in crime has taken place all because of repentance. We as the Body of Christ need to set aside our church agenda and the House in Session agenda and seek the Lord in prayer and fasting until the Lord answers.
THE MAJORITY OF OUR YOUNG PEOPLE LEAVING SCHOOL ARE ILL EQUIPPED FOR JOBS because they are not educationally inclined to seek further education in Colleges/Universities. They are good with their hands but lack Technical/Vocational skills.The present Clifton Hunter High School(old George Hicks)SHOULD BE USED AS A VOCATIONAL/TECHNICAL SCHOOL when they move into the new school in Frank Sound. The powers that be can partner with HEART FOUNDATION in Jamaica.Our young people can be trained as Plumbers,Masons, Electricians,Beauticians, Tailors etc.Politicians it is part of your responsibility to meet the needs of our society.This is a desperate NEED.There are only a few jobs for our young people leaving school.EACH YEAR AT LEAST 400 YOUNG PEOPLE GRADUATE/LEAVE SCHOOL. Some of them are turning to crime (small percentage)that is sending waves of fear into our community.Our future young men are killing each other. Building bigger Prisons/Rehabs is not the answer.Trying to build an economy like this is a waste of money.Our young peolpe are our greatest assets and resources. Let us pray together and let God change our islands.
I said a prayer for the family and loved ones affected by this violence. As a visitor to Grand Cayman there is not much more I can do.
I have not been going up to West Bay at night during the last few years even though my favorite restaurants are there.
West Bay has some of the best shore dives in Grand Cayman.
Now I won’t be going up there during the day either…
Dubai
Most people now are only seeing the end product; they blinded themselves to the root causes a long time ago.
It might be too late to shut the gate now; the horse has already bolted and is running rampage in the community.
The time the ‘powers that be’ spent trying to shut myself and others like me up when we were speaking of what was and what was to be, would have been better spent doing what we were doing; warning the youths of the traps that were being laid for them and how to avoid them but…
No one can make a financial killing off smart people and these youths had to be brainwashed into the ‘bling’ culture so that they would do anything to wear the best clothes (chingg chinnggg for the clothes merchants), the best jewelry (chiinng chiinngg for the jewelry merchants), drive the best cars (chhiinngg ccchiinnggg especially for the importers of cars in Cayman) and so on and so forth.
At the same time, no one considered that they were also importing and selling the best drugs to finance their lifestyles and importing and hiding the best guns for when they would use them, to continue the lifestyles they’ve been brainwashed into and…
Left unprepared for the real world by those very same ones who brainwashed them to profit off them.
Listen to the inept, unprofessional statements being made by your senior police officers and recognise where their priorities lie.
Those of us who have survived Cayman are still Caymanian, our families still live in Cayman so we must continue to speak loudly and clearly, as we have always done…no one can hurt us or threaten us with Northward Prison now, for speaking and telling the truth so now we must speak even louder.
Our efforts will stand as an indictment and record against those who are truly responsible for the sad state that the Cayman Islands is in today.
Quote —- In 2000 the Fiji Islands faced a similar social upheaval.The churches and christians got together (unity) and prayed for God’s intervention. God answered by sending them revival and a move of God that is still experienced today. The fish have returned to the water. They are growing huge fruits and vegetables. Prisoners are getting saved and a great reduction in crime has taken place all because of repentance. We as the Body of Christ need to set aside our church agenda and the House in Session agenda and seek the Lord in prayer and fasting until the Lord answers. Trying to build an economy like this is a waste of money.Our young peolpe are our greatest assets and resources. Let us pray together and let God change our islands.
SERIOUSLY?????????
Fasting until the Lord answers?
Tell you what Einstein. While you and your brainwashed, gullible and silly friends are starving to death, let the people of Grand Cayman who have the slightest bit of common sense and don’t believe in superstitious fairy tales tackle the problem.
I beg your pardon, but seriously.
Grow up.
P.S. I read up on the so called Fiji Islands revivals. According to the Fiji Islands Bureau of Statistics, their murder, rape and violent crime rates have INCREASED the past ten years. For instance, in 2008, there were a total of 296 cases of sexual assault involving children. In 2009, there were542 reported cases.
STOP making things up to try and defend and justify your ridiculous faith.
I’ve already said this…but let me say it again, for emphasis.
Goring Avenue, in George Town, Grand Cayman, is named after a very special man and and a very special family.
But then again, every single family from Goring Avenue is special…
For those who love to opppose the truth with their ‘thumbs down’ disagreement buttons..
We know how much the truth hurts you…
But you are not the ones feeling the how much more a bullet or gun butt hurts and for those who are…you don’t care…but we do.
And, at the same time, we are neither feeling how much a bullet or the truth hurts…and I speak for myself and others…
Because the truth has truly set us free.
Firery….perhaps I am a little slow…but can you spell out exactly what the Hell you are talking about! Do you support strong arm tactics or far fetched dreams that will not help! Thanks for the clarification and I apologize if everyone should naturally know what you mean.
If the criminals can get away with murder I hope and pray to God the police will look the other way if an honest hard working Caymanian takes out (read terminate) a criminal with a gun!
Cornflakes
If you’re referring to my last post; I’m referring there to the element of Caymanian society who won’t admit where, how and when this problem took root…
And don’t wish to hear it now.
Read all my other posts and you will see consistency; the measures that I would suggest to deal with this problem would seem a bit extreme to some of the posters here who keep referring to ‘long-term’ solutions while the ‘house is on fire’.
Impose a limited state of emergency or at least a ‘targeted area’ curfew in the West Bay areas where these gangs are operating from…stop and search all unoccupied loiterers, bring in all known gang members for questioning…and their families, if necessary..and put, round-the-clock armed police units in the trouble areas…and request help from the JDF if necessary.
They are the military force in the Caribbean with the most experience in stamping out trouble of this sort quickly and Cayman has never seen or experienced a military curfew…a quick wake-up call would get the job done.
Those are my suggestions.
Does anyone in Cayman have the guts to do these things ?
Does this sound like I am supporting armed gang warfare in Cayman ?