标签： Bahamas

Nearly two months removed from a devastating traffic collision that claimed the lives of five young people in Nassau, The Bahamas, 18-year-old survivor Bianca Mathurin is opening up about her gradual recovery and her newfound mission to draw others closer to God through her harrowing experience. Wednesday marked her first public address about the June 28 tragedy, which came during a formal ceremony where the Bahamas Christian Council (BCC) handed over a $21,013 donation check to support crash survivors and the families of the victims.

A sensitive internal police document detailing a broad island-wide crackdown on illegal weapons, narcotics and fugitive suspects has been leaked to the public, triggering a probe into the source of the breach and raising urgent alarms that the disclosure has allowed targeted criminals to evade law enforcement action.

The leak centers on Operation Clean Sweep, a coordinated enforcement initiative launched by the Royal Bahamas Police Force across New Providence last week. Speaking on the fallout of the breach, Police Commissioner Shanta Knowles confirmed that the unauthorized release of the restricted operational order has severely undermined the operation’s core objectives, confirming that those behind the leak will face internal disciplinary charges once identified.

“That is exactly what our concern is,” Commissioner Knowles told reporters, when asked whether the leak had given suspects an opportunity to avoid police interdiction. “Because of the leak of that document, those who we are trying to put a control on, it gives them a leeway now to prevent our road checks, to prevent us from executing our duties. Should we uncover where or who leaked that document, they will be facing charges within our organisation.”

A 10-page copy of the original operational order, marked “Restricted” and obtained by The Tribune, outlines the full structure of Operation Clean Sweep, which deployed 114 officers to conduct road checks, targeted searches and patrols across New Providence between 7pm and 11pm on August 24 and 25. The document includes sensitive personal details for all participating officers, including their full names, ranks, force identification numbers, divisional assignments and assigned reporting locations, alongside a full breakdown of the operation’s command hierarchy and enforcement tactics. While it does not name the exact streets or intersections where checkpoints would be set up, the disclosure still provides critical insight into police operational patterns that criminals can exploit.

Dated August 19 and signed by Acting Commissioner of Police Kirkwood Andrews, the order placed Senior Assistant Commissioner Zhivago Dames in overall command of the initiative. Its official public objectives include disrupting ongoing criminal networks, blocking the movement of illegal firearms, ammunition and narcotics, and increasing visible police presence in high-risk communities across the island. Participating officers were instructed to carry out systematic road stops, search suspicious vehicles and pedestrians, execute outstanding arrest warrants, enforce existing traffic regulations, and conduct compliance checks at nightlife venues including nightclubs and restaurants to ensure adherence to the country’s Liquor Licences Act.

Commissioner Knowles emphasized that the leak has created unnecessary barriers to the work of honest, service-focused officers across the force. Her statement comes in the wake of a brutal wave of gun violence that struck New Providence between Friday and Sunday last weekend, which left three people dead and two others wounded in four separate shooting incidents across the island – all within a 48-hour window.

The first fatal shooting occurred shortly after 4pm Friday on Soldier Road, where a man in his early 50s was shot and killed. Less than 15 hours later, at around 7am Saturday, a second man in his early 50s was ambushed by three suspects in a silver SUV as he arrived at his home on Joe Farrington Road. Police reports confirm two of the suspects exited the vehicle and opened fire, chasing the victim into his home before shooting him multiple times and leaving him dead at the scene.

Just five hours after that attack, at around noon Saturday, a third man in his late 30s was shot and killed while carrying out landscaping work along Gladstone Road, north of Fire Trail Road. Investigators say a white Japanese-made vehicle pulled up near the victim, before a male suspect exited and opened fire. An 18-year-old woman has since been taken into custody as a person of interest in connection with this killing.

The violence did not end with the three deaths. Shortly before 7pm Sunday, two gunmen opened fire on a group of people gathered outside a residential property on Reeves Street in the Fox Hill neighborhood, leaving a 22-year-old man with a shoulder wound and a 31-year-old man with a leg wound. Both victims are receiving medical treatment for their injuries.

Despite the spike in fatal violence over the weekend, Commissioner Knowles noted that aggregate long-term crime statistics across New Providence do not indicate a broader, systemic increase in criminal activity. She outlined a series of operational adjustments the force has already implemented to boost public safety, including reassigning officers from non-frontline administrative roles to increase uniformed patrol presence on the streets. Police continue to prioritize targeting repeat and high-risk offenders, and maintain regular lawful road checks and stop-and-search operations to disrupt criminal movement.

She also confirmed that all police patrol vehicles operating overnight have been instructed to keep their headlights and emergency marker lights on while on patrol, so that community residents can clearly see visible law enforcement presence in their neighborhoods.

Addressing the long-standing challenge of stemming the flow of illegal firearms into the country, Commissioner Knowles acknowledged that The Bahamas’ extensive coastal geography makes interception efforts far more complicated, but stressed that this complexity does not reduce the responsibility of law enforcement agencies to stop weapons from entering national territory. She said specialized anti-gang and firearms units are working in close partnership with the Department of Customs and the Royal Bahamas Defence Force to intercept illegal weapons shipments before they arrive, and to trace and recover any illicit firearms that have already made their way onto streets.

She highlighted one major success from recent years to underline the progress of these efforts: “Last year, we had a major bust where we were able to stop a shipment of 25 weapons and, I think, just over 5000 rounds of ammunition.”

In closing, Commissioner Knowles made a public appeal for community members to share any information they have about planned illegal weapons shipments with law enforcement, to help intercept firearms before they end up in the hands of criminals – particularly criminal actors that target young people across the country.

As the new academic year approaches in the Bahamas, law enforcement officials have rolled out a comprehensive set of new enforcement measures designed to improve campus order, boost student attendance, and protect young people from hidden drug threats, with a clear warning for disruptive parents and truant students.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Dr. Chaswell Hanna, the leader overseeing the nation’s School Based Policing and Training initiatives, outlined the full scope of the new policy in a recent briefing. The crackdown begins with zero tolerance for parents who engage in disruptive or aggressive behavior toward teachers and school administrators on campus. Hanna confirmed that multiple parents already faced court proceedings over such incidents during the 2023-2024 academic year, and the force will not hesitate to take similar action this term.

“We want to let parents know right off the bat we’re not going to tolerate that,” Hanna stated. He added a clear guidance for parents with unresolved grievances: any disagreements with school staff should be addressed through peaceful, respectful channels, not through confrontation that disrupts the learning environment.

Beyond addressing parental misconduct, the Royal Bahamas Police Force is targeting student truancy with a new monitoring measure focused on local barber shops. Officers will actively patrol these businesses between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. — standard core school hours — to check for students who have skipped classes to get haircuts or socialize. Barbershop owners and operators have already been notified of the new monitoring regime, though Hanna has not yet confirmed whether operators who knowingly host truant students will face legal penalties, nor has he outlined how police will assess whether a student’s absence has a legitimate justification. The core goal, Hanna emphasized, is to get students into classrooms on time where they belong.

These new enforcement rules come as all school resource officers (SROs) across the country complete targeted advanced training ahead of school reopenings next week. Under the expanded program, every public junior high and senior high school in both New Providence and the outlying Family Islands will have its own full-time SRO, matching the one-officer-per-school standard widely adopted by education safety systems around the world. These dedicated officers will work alongside existing school security staff and crossing guards to create layered safety coverage for every campus.

One of the most pressing public safety priorities outlined in the new push is raising awareness around dangerous marijuana edibles deliberately packaged to mimic popular candy and snack brands that children and teens frequently buy. The nation’s Drug Enforcement Unit recently seized multiple shipments of these deceptively packaged products, prompting the police force to partner with the Ministry of Education to develop new public service announcements (PSAs) to educate students on how to spot the dangerous fakes and avoid accidental consumption.

Hanna also highlighted the proven impact of the expanded SRO program: he reported that school violence incidents have dropped 48 percent since the program was reinstated, with full official statistics supporting the claim expected to be released shortly by Commissioner of Police Shanta Knowles.

A serious allegation of police misconduct has emerged from Bimini, Bahamas, where a local mother has publicly accused officers of physical and verbal abuse against her 26-year-old son during his time in police custody. Alethia Romer-Rolle claims officers beat her son, Hakeem Rolle, pulled down his trousers, and made unwanted sexualized physical advances while interrogating him about alleged drug trafficking activity on the island.

The Royal Bahamas Police Force has confirmed that it has launched an official investigation into the claims, after Rolle’s family submitted a formal complaint to the Complaints and Corruption Unit based in Grand Bahama. Superintendent Nicholas Johnson, who leads the Criminal Investigation Department and serves as police press spokesperson for northern Bahamas, confirmed the inquiry is active and ongoing. “It’s an active investigation, and we don’t comment until they establish some facts,” Johnson stated in a press briefing.

According to Romer-Rolle, the incident stemmed from the August 21 arrest of Rolle and 27-year-old Astra Armbrister, who were taken into custody near the entrance to Bimini Bay on suspicion of loitering. The two men operate a small local golf cart rental business, and were waiting near the Resorts World Bimini cruise terminal, where thousands of tourists disembark daily, when police detained them around midday immediately after a cruise ship docked. Rolle told officers he was only in the area to drop off golf cart keys to a client, but the explanation did not prevent his arrest, his mother says.

After the pair were taken into custody, officers searched Romer-Rolle’s home and notified her that the men would remain in holding for 48 hours. The mother says she spent the next two nights in a state of crippling anxiety, unable to sleep for fear of what might happen to her son while in police custody. “I tossed and turned all night Friday and Saturday, and I prayed, ‘please don’t let them touch my child,’” she recalled.

Rolle and Armbrister were ultimately released from custody two days later on Sunday, August 23. As they walked to the car following their release, Rolle immediately told his mother that officers had assaulted him during interrogation, Romer-Rolle says. The mother detailed the disturbing claims: officers repeatedly beat Rolle on his buttocks while pressing him to name people involved in drug dealing on the island, pulled down his pants and attempted to grab his genitals. She also alleged one officer threatened Rolle with graphic profanity, held a key close to his eye and told him, “They didn’t tell you I was the f***** devil, that’s what my name is.”

Rolle developed noticeable swelling from the assault while still in custody on Friday, and his formal request for medical care was denied by holding staff, according to the allegations. “My son said he had some swelling and asked for assistance to go to the clinic, and they denied him that from Friday,” Romer-Rolle said. Only after their release on Sunday were both Rolle and Armbrister able to visit the local Bimini clinic to have their injuries formally documented for the complaint.

The experience was so distressing for Romer-Rolle that she required medical attention herself after hearing her son’s account. She was referred to the Accident and Emergency Department at Rand Memorial Hospital in Grand Bahama, where she spent approximately five hours receiving care the day before the story broke.

Romer-Rolle has also publicly questioned the legality of the original loitering arrest, noting that there are no posted signs prohibiting public access to the area where her son and Armbrister were waiting. She argued the two men were simply working to earn an honest living, rather than committing any offense. “What do they want them to do? They want them to kill? They want them to thief? They’re hustling and you’re saying loitering? They’re hustling trying to make their own money,” she said.

The mother added that allegations of routine police brutality have been widespread on Bimini for a long time, and she is calling for an end to the practice. “This beating is something that needs to stop. This is going on too long on this island,” she emphasized.

When the family first attempted to file their complaint on Bimini, they were told the report had to be submitted to the unit in Grand Bahama. The complaint has now been formally filed, and the family has retained legal representation to move the case forward. Romer-Rolle says she has been notified that an assigned investigator will travel to Bimini in the coming days to conduct on-site interviews and gather additional evidence for the inquiry.

Local news outlet The Tribune attempted to reach out to senior police leadership on Bimini for comment, but was told that Sergeant Murray, the senior officer in charge of the island’s police force, was unavailable for an interview.

Three months have passed since 67-year-old security guard Joshua Rolle lost his life in a fatal collision with a tow truck as he walked home from his shift in Grand Bahama, and his grieving family still has no clarity on whether any party will face criminal charges for his death.

Director of Public Prosecutions Cordella Frazier confirmed to local outlet The Tribune that prosecutors had completed an initial review of the case file, but could not reach a definitive conclusion on criminal liability at this stage. As a result, the file has been sent forward to the coroner’s office to undergo the standard formal inquest process. “It has to go through that process, and once cause of death is determined we can review the file for criminality,” Frazier explained.

The tragedy unfolded shortly after 10 p.m. on May 17, when Rolle, a father of three, was struck by a flatbed tow truck while traveling along Coral Road near Indiana Lane. His daughter, Jasmon Rolle, who resides in the United States, received the devastating news just two days later and immediately traveled back to Grand Bahama to join other relatives and navigate the unfolding investigation. From the earliest stages of the process, the family says they have faced roadblocks to information.

During their first visit to the local police station to meet with Traffic Division officers immediately after Jasmon arrived, the family took issue with the details laid out in the initial police report. After Jasmon returned to the U.S., she maintained consistent contact with investigating officers, while her cousin Tammy Butler served as the family’s on-the-ground liaison in Grand Bahama. The family continued to push for updates even after Rolle’s June 20 funeral, with Jasmon placing follow-up calls to investigators roughly twice a week starting June 22.

“They just kept saying it’s to this office, it’s that office, it’s to the attorney general’s office,” Jasmon recalled of the repeated updates she received. On July 21, investigators told the family the probe had been wrapped up, but there was not enough evidence to move forward with formal charges. “They just said the Attorney General’s office didn’t see enough evidence to charge the person with anything,” she said. After that announcement, the family was told the case file would be sent to Coroner’s Court official Charlton Smith for further review.

Jasmon followed up again on July 27, and was told officers would reach out to Smith’s office and share an update. Three weeks later, that update never came. A follow-up call placed on August 17 still left the family with no new information. “Since the accident happened, I’ve been calling every week, and the officer is still saying there’s no word, there’s no word,” Jasmon said.

This months-long stretch of uncertainty has only compounded the family’s grief, making it impossible to find closure after the sudden, unexpected death. “There are actually no words. It was a sudden tragic death and just the fact that I can’t get any closure, I don’t feel like any justice is being served,” Jasmon said. The family’s demands remain simple: official clarity and accountability for Rolle’s death. “We just want closure and justice for my dad. That’s the two main things,” she added.

Butler, the family’s local point of contact, has also criticized authorities for persistent poor communication that has left relatives in the dark from the moment of the crash. “I just feel like from day one the whole situation was not handled properly with us. We had to go to the police station for information after the accident, not being notified as family members,” Butler said. She added that Rolle had become the central anchor of the family after the death of his mother, making his loss and the lack of answers even more devastating. “Somebody got to be wrong. It’s not fair. We lost someone important to our family,” she said.

Repeating her earlier statement, Frazier confirmed that the case remains in the coroner’s hands for the next phase of review before a determination on criminal charges can be made.

A weeks-long high-stakes search for a missing 34-year-old mother of two from Eleuthera has ended with murder charges against three local residents, closing one of the most closely watched missing person cases in the Bahamas this year.

Katrina Kelly, a resident of Bluff, Eleuthera, was last seen alive on the night of August 11. When she failed to contact her family, an extensive multi-party search operation was launched, drawing widespread public attention and a combined reward offer of more than $50,000 for any information about her location. Prosecutors formally filed charges against 31-year-old Rico Hepburn, 34-year-old Dencil ‘Gio’ Delancy, and 43-year-old Jakita Cash in court on Friday, marking the latest major development in the ongoing investigation.

According to court documents, the three defendants are accused of acting in concert to intentionally and unlawfully kill Kelly on Eleuthera on August 11, the same day she was last seen. A second charge accuses the trio of damaging Kelly’s 2013 Nissan Cube—valued at $7,000—on August 12, a day after the alleged killing. Initial court procedure does not require the defendants to enter formal pleas to the murder charge at this stage, and all three are eligible to file bail applications with the Supreme Court of the Bahamas.

The case unfolded rapidly after Kelly’s disappearance was reported. Three days after she was last seen, on August 14, local law enforcement issued an official missing person alert to the public. As concerns for Kelly’s safety grew, police expanded the search operation, deploying additional detective teams and police canines to Eleuthera. Local volunteers and trained divers joined the search effort to comb through land and coastal areas for any trace of the missing mother.

The search effort drew broad community and organizational support, with rewards posted to encourage tips from the public. Kelly’s own family was the first to offer a reward, putting forward $2,500 for information that would lead to her safe return. Shortly after, the Fox Foundation stepped in to add a significant additional reward of up to $50,000 for any information clarifying Kelly’s whereabouts, bringing the total reward pool to $52,500.

Following the completion of initial investigative work, police confirmed on Friday that the three suspects would face formal charges. Alongside the murder and property damage charges, law enforcement had initially noted the trio would also face a charge of compounding a crime, though that charge was not referenced in the final criminal complaint filed Friday. All three defendants have been remanded into custody as they prepare to file their bail applications before the Supreme Court. The case has been adjourned until February 4, 2027, at which point the defendants are scheduled to receive voluntary bills of indictment, moving the case one step closer to trial.

A wave of brutal gun violence has swept the Bahamian capital of New Providence over a single weekend, leaving three men dead and law enforcement launching a widespread manhunt for multiple fugitive suspects. The string of attacks, which unfolded between Friday afternoon and Saturday midday, has deepened ongoing concerns over persistent violent crime in the region, even as investigators work to piece together details of each coordinated incident.

The first fatal shooting took place just before 4 p.m. Friday in the area near the intersection of Soldier Road and Blue Hill Road. When officers from the East Street South Police Station and the specialized anti-crime unit Operation Black Scorpion arrived at the scene following reports of repeated gunfire, they discovered a 51-year-old man lying face down outside a local apartment complex, with clear evidence of multiple gunshot wounds. Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel confirmed the victim was dead at the scene. Preliminary investigative findings suggest the man was in the area conducting routine activity when two male suspects stepped out of a white Japanese-manufactured sedan, drew concealed firearms, and fired multiple rounds at him before fleeing east along Soldier Road in their getaway vehicle.

Less than 16 hours after the first killing, a second attack unfolded just after 7 a.m. Saturday at a residential property on Joe Farrington Road. Responding officers from the Mobile Division and Elizabeth Estates Police Station found a 52-year-old man, who had just returned to his home, dead inside a yellow apartment building. According to initial reports, three armed suspects arrived at the property in a silver SUV, with two carrying high-powered military-style weapons and the third armed with a standard handgun. As the gunmen opened fire, the victim attempted to escape inside his residence, but the attackers pursued him inside and continued shooting, striking him multiple times before fleeing west along Joe Farrington Road. EMS pronounced the victim dead at the scene shortly after arrival.

Five hours after the second killing, the third fatal attack occurred on Gladstone Road, just a short distance north of Fire Trail Road. When police and EMS arrived just after noon, they found a 36-year-old landscaper who had been shot while working on the eastern side of the road. Like the previous two victims, he was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators say a white Japanese-model sedan pulled up beside the victim as he worked, and two armed suspects exited the vehicle and opened fire before fleeing north.

The investigation into this third killing quickly escalated into a high-speed police pursuit when Operation Black Scorpion officers intercepted the suspect vehicle in the Pride Estates neighborhood. The chase ended on Allen Close, where suspects inside the vehicle reportedly opened fire on pursuing officers, triggering an exchange of gunfire. When the driver finally pulled the vehicle to a stop behind a private residence, four people — three men and an 18-year-old woman — exited the vehicle. Police reports confirm one of the male suspects, seated in the back of the vehicle, continued firing at officers even after the vehicle stopped, prompting police to return fire that left the getaway vehicle heavily damaged. The three male suspects managed to scale a perimeter fence and escape the scene, but the 18-year-old female driver was later found hiding underneath a public bus and taken into custody. She has been formally cautioned in connection with the killing, the pursuit, and the shootout with police. Investigators searching the suspect vehicle and the surrounding area after the incident recovered two high-powered firearms, one additional handgun, and a quantity of unused ammunition.

In addition to the three fatal killings, police were also investigating a separate non-fatal shooting late Sunday night on Reeves Street, located just off Fox Hill Road. Two men were wounded in that attack and were transported to a local hospital by ambulance; as of press time, no update has been released on their current condition.

Prior to this weekend’s violence, official records from The Tribune put the national murder count at 48 as of August 4, not including the fatal shooting of 30-year-old Abdul Zidor on Fire Trail Road East just last week. The three weekend killings mark a sharp escalation in the capital’s ongoing gun violence crisis, putting new pressure on law enforcement to crack down on illegal firearms and gang-related activity in the region.