A 32-year-old man from Abaco became the country’s 34th murder victim of the year and the first on the island in 2024 after gunmen carried out a fatal ambush near a controversial Dundas Town nightclub early yesterday, reigniting long-simmering community outrage over the venue’s ongoing operation in a residential neighborhood.
According to police accounts, the victim, Smithy Belfort, had just entered his parked Honda near Bootle’s Drive and was preparing to reverse out when he was struck by gunfire in the lower abdomen. Disoriented from the injury, Belfort lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a patch of dense bushes off nearby Forest Drive, where responding law enforcement officers later located him. A second 20-year-old man also sustained a gunshot wound to the shoulder during the incident. Police report the man had just exited the Forum Bar and Lounge when he heard the gunfire, and only realized he had been hit moments after the attack.
The deadly shooting has sent shockwaves through the tight-knit Dundas Town community, amplifying months of pressure on local authorities to crack down on the nightclub that residents have opposed for years over its unsafe reputation, persistent noise pollution, and improper placement in a densely populated residential area. Local residents revealed that the venue was ordered closed back in May, but its unauthorized reopening earlier this month left the community frustrated and fearful. The location has already been the subject of multiple formal petitions and official objection letters from local government representatives.
Kadeem Martin, the owner of Forum Bar and Lounge, has pushed back against claims that the shooting is tied to his business. He argued that the ambush occurred far up the hill from the club’s premises, as captured by his venue’s security footage. “From what I understand, from the footage that I’ve seen, it was up the hill from the bar. We were already closing and somebody who left, one of the patrons, he was walking his vehicle up the hill, I think, when he got in his vehicle. He had persons waiting on him in the bush so they ambushed him but it had nothing to do with my bar,” Martin said, adding that the attack was not the result of a fight or public intoxication that originated at his establishment. Martin also claimed that only a small number of local residents have raised complaints, framing the pushback as targeted harassment of an out-of-town business owner. “I’m not from Abaco so I have a lot of trouble from these people. They’re saying that I’m coming here to cause a problem, and I’m not. It’s only two residents and they’ve been causing the issues,” he said.
But local leaders and residents paint a far different picture of the years of unaddressed issues plaguing the neighborhood since the nightclub opened. Faron Newbold, chief councillor for Central Abaco’s District Council, said residents are living in a constant state of fear and disappointment, claiming that local law enforcement has repeatedly ignored their calls for assistance over the venue’s violations. “Residents are fearful and disappointed because they feel there is no sort of protection,” Newbold said, noting that the council opposed the licence application from the start and appealed to the Attorney General’s Office before approval was granted. “It’s smack down in the middle of residences. There are residents in the back, front and side. It don’t even meet the liquor license requirement. All of this was inspected by Ministry of Works, the police and environmental health and gave it a clearance knowing the location. It was disappointing,” he added, calling on the national police commissioner to launch a full investigation into the licensing and response failures that led to yesterday’s killing.
Melissa Hardy, a long-time resident who lives directly across the street from the nightclub, said she contacted police repeatedly in the hours before the shooting, and officers refused to dispatch officers to address ongoing disturbances at the venue. “I called the police minutes before the gunshots. I called the police five times last night and they refused to come. The sixth time I called the police around 1.28, when I told them if they had come when they was supposed to come, they wouldn’t have to pick up nobody’s dead body,” she said. Hardy added that the community has endured constant late-night noise, loud explicit music, and unruly behavior from club patrons that makes it nearly impossible for local families to sleep through the night. On the night of the shooting, she counted roughly 16 gunshots in quick succession, and has been unable to sleep since the attack. Multiple neighbours confirmed the chaos, saying they scrambled for cover as the gunfire rang out, with one resident even falling while attempting to flee to safety.
Belfort’s death has already left his family shattered, according to a close family source. The victim’s siblings, who all reside overseas, have been left devastated by the sudden, violent loss of their brother.