Violence has been increasing on STT, but it has, for the most part, been criminal on criminal. As long as you knew where not to be, especially at night, there was never any fear of being a victim of crime.
But yesterday, the worst possible scenario was played out. A 14 year old tourist visiting on a Carnival cruise ship was killed from crossfire between two criminals. Mid day, at a popular tourist site, in a “safari” taxi cab. The target of the shooting was also killed and the shooter is on the run. This is such a sad story and I feel for the family. So I hope that the outrage will bring the problems to the surface. It’s going to take everyone getting involved and giving a dam to make a difference. From the community keeping a watchful eye and reporting incidents, not hiding criminals and working with the police and not against them. To the parents being more involved in their children’s lives. It’s going to take the police force to step it up and be proactive, investigate crimes completely and timely so that there is no chance that the case will be thrown out on a technicality or lack of evidence. It’s going to take the judges handing out sentences to their max and stop giving out probation and home confinement. It’s going to take politicians to put stricter gun laws and tougher sentences in place and see to it that they are being followed.
It just makes me so sad that the place I love has come to this. On top of everything else, Carnival Cruise line has issued a statement indicating that they are suspending all trips to Coki Beach and Coral World until further notice. This is a prime tourist location so all the businesses will now suffer because of this. But I don't blame them at all. This was a terible tragedy, and emotions are high, and who knows what these idiots are cabable of. I just hope this brings the community closer together and some positive changes come out of it.
There are several articles written about this incident, here are just a few.
http://stthomassource.com/content/news/local-news/2010/07/12/police-issue-wanted-poster-double-homicide-suspect
http://stthomassource.com/content/commentary/editorial/2010/07/12/take-stand-against-senseless-violence-now
http://stthomassource.com/content/commentary/open-forum/2010/07/13/poor-police-planning-leaves-community-tragically-vulnerable
http://www.stthomasblog.com/?p=5351
http://www.governordejongh.com/blog/2010/07/Governor-Responds-to-Shooting-Incident-at-Coki-Point.html
1 comment:
How very sad this is, and your heart just goes out.
Sounds like old fashion gangs...may as well be Miami or Chicago it is all the same. They have been around since the beginning, what has changed is that they have more mobility. A hundred years ago we could have called them highwaymen or outlaws and before that something else....
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