Government to introduce domestic terrorism law after shooting leaves 10 injured

Barbados is set to introduce domestic terrorism legislation following a shooting in Bridgetown early Saturday that left 10 people injured, Prime Minister Mia Mottley announced, warning that acts designed to spread fear and panic would not be tolerated.

Addressing the nation at a press conference on Saturday, Mottley said the incident, which occurred just after 3 a.m. as passengers were disembarking from a party cruise aboard the Dream Chaser 2, underscored the need for stronger legal tools to deal with violence intended to terrorise communities.

“We will have one,” Mottley said, referring to domestic terrorism legislation. “It is one thing for a person to be charged with murder; it is another thing for a person to create panic and to cause people to be the subject of terrorism and terror.”

She condemned the shooting and pledged that those responsible would face the full force of the law.

“This type of behaviour is unacceptable and will not be tolerated in this country,” she said.

Police briefings indicated that 10 people were injured during the incident, which unfolded along Hinks Street and Nelson Street in the City.  Five victims were admitted to hospital, three of whom required surgery, while others were treated and discharged. A temporary lockdown at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital was implemented as a precaution but later lifted.

Mottley said recent shootings across the country, including incidents at gas stations, in residential and otherwise public areas, highlighted a pattern of violence that went beyond conventional criminal activity.

“When you seek to go into a gas station at 11 o’clock on a Sunday morning or to shoot across a bus at eight o’clock on a Saturday morning… then we know that we have a problem that requires not just the simple application of charges of murder or aggravated assault,” she said.

While police intelligence suggested the violence involved a small number of individuals, Mottley warned that Barbados would not allow a minority to place the wider population at risk.

Commissioner of Police Richard Boyce confirmed that investigations were ongoing, with officers from the Major Crime Unit and the Serious Organised Crime Unit assigned to the case.

He appealed to members of the public to assist the police.

“I want to assure the country that you should have no fear,” Boyce said, urging anyone with information to contact the police or Crime Stoppers.

He dismissed questions casting doubt on the efficiency of the force’s crime strategies, noting that a “one-off incident will not delete” the efforts and hard work of the police.

Mottley also thanked law enforcement officers and medical personnel for their response, noting that 87 people were redirected to Winston Scott Polyclinic to relieve pressure on QEH’s Accident and Emergency Department.

Placing the shooting within a wider national context, the prime minister said Barbados was already grappling with enough external and internal pressures, including geopolitical tensions and social challenges.

Reiterating her New Year’s Day appeal, Mottley urged Barbadians to stand together against gun violence.

“No gun walks, no gun talks,” she said. “Barbadians, I’m asking you to bind together to make sure that this country does not go the route of others by becoming a place where terror becomes the order of the day.”

She signalled that while introducing domestic terrorism legislation could involve difficult decisions, the government would not retreat from safeguarding public safety.

“There shall be no retreat and no surrender,” she said. (SM)