Bahamas’ murder count climbed to twelve so far this year, after a 20-year-old father was murdered in front of his four-year-old child. According to the police, Quintero Arnett was sitting in his vehicle on Saturday when several gunmen alighted from another vehicle, firing gunshots into Arnett’s vehicle.
Police said his daughter was also in the car and his girlfriend was at a nearby restaurant.
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CCTV footage of the incident showed a white car pulling up a few feet away from the victim’s car. Four slim-built men armed with guns exited and immediately began shooting at Arnett’s vehicle.
In the footage, Arnett can be seen breaking through the window of his car and crawling out onto the ground. The backseat door opened, and Arnett’s four-year-old daughter ran out to her father.
She reportedly tried to get him to run with her.
But three of the gunmen, who at first ran back toward their getaway car, returned to Arnett and began firing at point blank range. In the footage, Arnett lay motionless as the gunmen raced back to their car and drove off.
Police said the little girl was not injured during the shooting.
President of the Bahamas Christian Council, Bishop Delton Fernander, said the incident shook everyone.
“I was horrified. I was horrified that the child was traumatized for the rest of their life. Quite frankly, I didn’t know if they were going to kill the child too. As I said, these are products of our nation, and we must find a way to deal with this problem because it’s our challenge as a nation.”
The founder of Families of All Murder Victims (FOAM), Khandi Gibson, said gunmen no longer care who gets hurt in the crossfire, describing the incident as cold-hearted.
“Children aren’t safe anymore,” she said, recalling a case last year when a man was shot dead while holding his eight-month-old baby. (CMC)
