Tobago Correspondent
While gun violence continues to be a growing concern in Tobago, high-powered guns are not a major issue for the island’s police, according to ASP Collis Hazel.
Hazel confirmed to Guardian Media that the majority of murders in 2023 have involved illegal firearms. However, he pointed out that since Trinidad and Tobago does not manufacture firearms, it is clear that these weapons are entering the island at a rapid pace due to our porous borders.
And while there has been an increase in the number of guns recovered so far this year, Hazel is relieved that high-powered guns are not favoured by the criminals operating in Tobago. He believes that if they were more popular, the island’s murder rate would reach a record high, as shootings with such weapons tend to be fatal.
“Most of what has been found in the Tobago space have been pistols. We have not seen the proliferation of high-powered guns. While there may be evidence of other rifle types, what we have been seeing showing up is pistols,” Hazel said.
“In this area, we have seen the proliferation of too many firearms on the island. And, of course, like anything else, we looked at the fact that we do not manufacture firearms within Trinidad and Tobago, however, firearms are turning up here and by way of our porous borders.”
Officers on the island have so far recovered 25 illegal guns for the year. All of the murders recorded in Tobago this year involved the use of firearms.
The island’s first murder victim, Nigel Sandy, of Plymouth, was shot dead near his home in February. Weeks later, Shastri Boodan was found dead with a gunshot wound to the head.
The island’s third and fourth murder victims – Lynch Bovell and Donneil Thomas – were shot and killed days apart in April.
Less than a month later, on May 3, pensioner Donneil Thomas, of Gloden Lane, was shot dead. Six days after, gunmen killed Hakeem Thomas in Mt Pleasant.
Denson Turner, of Les Coteaux, became the island’s seventh murder victim in June after gunmen cornered him and shot him.
Last month, Tobago’s eighth and ninth murder victims, Scarborough vendor Allison Ballah and Mason Hall student Precious Wills, we’re both shot dead in separate incidents.
