CASTRIES, St. Lucia, CMC – Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre Monday said he had signed a statutory document designating the southern town of Vieux Fort an escalated crime zone following the murders of seven people over a weekend earlier this month.
“This morning, I signed the statutory instrument which will cause Vieux Fort South to be an escalated crime area, and that will be till May 16th,” Pierre told reporters.
The prime minister, who visited Vieux Fort last weekend to reassure residents and the business community in the aftermath of the town’s deadly gun violence, said that the escalated crime zone designation could apply to another part of the country because of the law’s flexibility.
The measure provides the police with expanded powers to respond to areas where crime has escalated.
Pierre told reporters that the people of the southern community are ‘very hopeful’ that the authorities will bring the situation under control and that officers from the Barbados-based Regional Security System (RSS) began their operations on Sunday night and would be here for at least three weeks.
In recent weeks St. Lucia has been rocked by several deadly shootings, with Prime Minister Pierre promising that his administration would continue implementing measures to ensure the country’s stability and security.
“We will continue to implement the strategies that we have presented to uphold law and order and to legally eliminate threats to the stability and security of St Lucia’s peace-loving communities,” Pierre said.
On Monday, Prime Minister Pierre expressed condolences to the relatives of the two men killed on Sunday night on the capital’s outskirts.
In a statement, the police said that 32-year-old Tonio Eleuthere, alias “Zepor, “and 53-year-old Junior Cherubin, alias “Ragga,” died after being at Bananes, near the roundabout.
Media reports said that they were shot while riding a motorbike.
In the statement, the police said officers had responded to the shootings on Sunday night and “found the unresponsive bodies of the two men.” They were later pronounced dead at the nearby OKEU Hospital.
Police said they are appealing to witnesses to contact the nearest police station, the central crime unit, or the crime hotline “for anonymous reporting.”
Pierre said the battle against crime was a work in progress and that the police were getting more resources, including new vehicles.
“They also received body armor – they got 150 vests. They are going to be getting some more vehicles. The scanners are coming. I understand they will be here next week. We also have some drones coming next week,” Pierre told reporters.
“My job is to make available the resources within the abilities of the government,” he added, reiterating the government’s absolute zero tolerance for lawlessness.
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