PM Friday pledges comprehensive plan after Green Hill shooting kills four

Four people were killed and four injured in a shooting in Green Hill, St. Vincent. PM Godwin Friday has outlined a broad response combining security measures and root-cause interventions.

Green Hill shooting: PM Friday announces all-of-society crime response

Prime Minister Godwin Friday has announced a comprehensive government plan in response to a shooting in Green Hill, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, that left four people dead and four others injured, iWitness News reports.

The shooting took place on a Friday night while the prime minister was abroad, just hours after he addressed the United Nations General Assembly for the first time since his New Democratic Party won the November general election.

Police confirmed the identities of the four people killed: Steve King, 22, Antonio Samuel, 32, and Shaqueil Peters, 26, all of Green Hill, along with Shevern Chandler, 23, of Paul's Avenue.

Multiple reliable sources told iWitness News that among those wounded were a 20-year-old Green Hill woman with injuries to her right hand, a 17-year-old male student with injuries to his right arm, right leg and left hand, a 28-year-old man with injuries to his right arm, and a 16-year-old mechanic with injuries to his left thigh, right forearm and left hand.

Speaking on NBC Radio on Wednesday, Friday described the incident as "heartbreaking," pointing to the ages of those involved.

"You look at the ages of the persons involved. These are young people at the beginning of their lives," he said, expressing sympathy for the victims' families and calling the violence unacceptable.

Friday said he was in contact with Minister of National Security and Deputy Prime Minister St. Clair Leacock — who was acting prime minister at the time — shortly after the shooting occurred.

"We spoke about it. We have had follow-up since I came back. We had meetings with the top brass and with the commissioner [of police] and the minister himself, and we are looking for and seeking and putting in place a comprehensive plan to deal with crime and violence, especially violent crimes in our country," Friday said.

The prime minister acknowledged that the issue had been a priority for his party even before taking office.

"We spoke about it a lot when we were in opposition, and we have put our minds to it here in government, and we intend to follow through," he said.

Friday stressed that the response would go beyond an increased security presence, though he said that remains necessary as an immediate reaction in areas where such incidents occur.

"But we have to look at the source problem. Why are these young people moving in this direction? How do we combat this? What are the things that we need to do as a society?" he said.

"This is why it takes an all-of-society approach to be able to address this problem at its root causes, and that is the approach that we are taking."

A central concern raised by Friday was the flow of illegal weapons into the country. Referencing his UNGA address, in which he highlighted the problem of guns across the region, he said the weapons arriving in St. Vincent and the Grenadines were not manufactured locally.

"I'm seeing submachine guns. We're seeing high-powered rifles. We're seeing all kinds of weapons coming in there. How are they getting into the country, and what do we do to stem that?" Friday said.

He described the trafficking of weapons into the region as a matter requiring cooperation both within the Caribbean and with partners outside it.

Friday also pointed to the need to create opportunities for young people as part of the broader strategy.

"Alternatives that are more positive and constructive," he said, outlining what he described as the core of the comprehensive approach now being developed.

The prime minister reiterated the appeal made by the deputy prime minister and others in society that the violence is incompatible with the country's values.

"This is not our lifestyle in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. And we will come to terms with it, and we will solve this problem. We will deal with it in a way that is effective and long-lasting, and that's our plan going forward," Friday said.

Source: iWitness News