Shaken West Bay residents near the Ed Bush Stadium, scene of Sunday night’s shooting in which seven people were injured, have said they no longer feel safe in their homes.
Several called on the police to do better, following the unprecedented episode of gun violence which shattered the quiet of their evening.
A single mother who lives near the stadium and spoke on condition of anonymity, said she had just finished putting her young son to bed when the crackle of gunfire broke out.
“I heard the gunshots and thought to myself, ‘This can’t be gunshots. It must be fireworks’,” she said.
“When I looked from my bedroom window, I saw people running and trying to get out of the stadium.
“People were running towards the field; really, they were going in every direction.”
Her thoughts quickly ran to the safety of her own family.
She said, “My son goes to play football with his friends a lot, he hangs out by Scholars Park right next to the stadium.
“All I kept thinking was, ‘What if that was my son who got shot?’
“As a mother, my heart goes out to the parents of the person who got shot.
“I don’t have the answers but something needs to be done. Because I can see the police are trying, but clearly not enough.
“More needs to be done. We need to find a way to get the guns out of Cayman – all of them.”
‘I don’t feel safe’
Calvey Ebanks, 74, described his shock and disbelief upon hearing the gunfire.
“I was sitting down on the sofa and I heard a ‘Bang! Bang! Bang!’ So many shots.
“I thought to myself ‘That’s a rocket’, but a few weeks ago I heard something similar – blapp-blapp-blapp. And that was a shooting, just down the road.
“So it was a minute until I realised it was a shooting. I thought, ‘That’s impossible’.”
He said soon the parking lot of the Ed Bush stadium across the road was swarming with vehicles including police cars, two ambulances, and a fire engine. “It was like the task force had arrived,” he said.
Ebanks lives on the other side of West Bay but is staying directly opposite the stadium parking lot while repairs are ongoing at his home.
“I do not feel safe here,” he said. “I feel safer at home. There it feels safe, but here, I don’t feel safe.
“I’ve never heard of anything like this – first I heard two people, maybe three, but I turned on the radio this morning and I hear seven people have been shot.”
The retired maintenance engineer called for a more active and visible police presence.
“We have to have a safer community. I think there should be more law enforcement and patrols in certain areas. The younger generation are going wild.”
He described seeing gangs of men walking down certain streets in the West Bay area, repeatedly throughout the day, and asked why police seemed only to respond after reports of criminality but did not patrol to provide a deterrence.
“If I were commissioner, I would make it more safe – more patrols, on foot not just in cars. I think the police haven’t done enough. You can’t stop all crime but you can slow it down.”
Meanwhile James, a visitor to the island who was attending the nearby church during the shooting, said he still felt safe and would continue to visit, adding, “From what I see, people in Cayman don’t really hurt someone unless you do something to them.”
But, he said, “I do think it’s really bad for someone to go and shoot up a football match with young children – what if they got hurt?”
Police said the investigation is ongoing, with no arrests as yet.
The RCIPS is appealing for information. Witnesses can call 911, or the West Bay Police Station on 949-3999, or call the confidential tip line on 949-7777, or go online via the RCIPS website or Cayman Crime Stoppers.
Additional reporting by Andrel Harris.
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