By Shermain Bique-Charles
The Member of Parliament for St John’s Rural West wants all political parties to come together formulate a policy to address gun crimes in Antigua and Barbuda.
MP Richard Lewis was speaking on the heels of a double shooting at Greenbay on Monday that resulted in the death of a 20-year-old woman and left a 24-year man hospitalised in critical condition.
“When I heard of the incident, it was devasting news. To know that we are talking about two young people being shot in my constituency shook me to the core,” Lewis said
“It is a very troubling time and speaks to young people’s path. It speaks to the issue of gun crime in our country. We have much work to do, and I hope the police leave no stones unturned in trying to bring a solution to this crime,” he said
Lewis said the time has come for all parties to put aside their political differences and sit at the table with a common goal in mind — making Antigua and Barbuda a safe place.
“It will take a coming together of the opposition and the government. We find much time to bicker and argue about trivial things. We all need to get at the table; the security forces must also be included to discuss how we will tackle this crime issue,” he said
There must also be increased surveillance at the country’s porous ports of entry, he added.
“We have also heard stories in recent times that licensed firearms are going missing; this also needs to be examined,” he said.
Another gripe is the unavailability of the community center in Gray’s Farm, which Lewis reiterated must be made available for skills training.
“Down in Rural West, what will we do about our training center? We need access to it to provide skills training necessary for the young people, particularly the young boys who are idle … there is much work to be done, and it will take a coming together of the government, opposition, and security forces. This cannot continue,” he asserted
The shooting death of the unnamed young woman takes the number of homicides, for the year to date, to three.