Monday afternoon’s brazen shooting has angered the leaders of the opposition United Workers Party (UWP), who are calling for a tougher stance on crime from the government and law enforcement.
Jaheim Papius of Babonneau was gunned down at Derek Walcott Square in Castries while another man was in critical condition.
The incident occurred at approximately 2:15 pm.
Speaking on Tuesday, UWP political leader Allen Chastanet said criminals have become too emboldened, and Monday’s incident could have resulted in the loss of numerous lives.
“Yesterday’s incident in Derek Walcott Square is too harsh of a reminder to all of us that all is not well in this country. You heard the story, it’s not for me to say, of a man taking his son to get registered and how easily the stray bullets could have either hit him or his son?” He said.
Saint Lucia recorded 75 homicides in 2023, 70 of which were classified as murders, four police-related shooting deaths, and one unclassified death.
Seventy-two homicides were recorded in 2022, with 66 being murders, 4 being police-related deaths, and two being unclassified.
In 2021, there were 75 recorded homicides, 70 of which were murders, 2 were police-related deaths, and three were unclassified.
UWP Public Relations Officer Lenard’ Spider’ Montoute said the number of Saint Lucians who lost their lives over the past few years is too numerous.
He urged the government to get a handle on the current situation. “We must have a value on life. In the last three years, about 300 Saint Lucians were murdered in Saint Lucia, and to date, we have a government who is clueless as to what to do. They say nothing, they do nothing, they simply preside over the worst crime wave that we have had in the history of Saint Lucia, where on two occasions we have equaled the record of 75 homicides in one year,” he said.
“This year, unfortunately, we seem well on course to surpass that record,” Montoute declared.
