7MB hotel hit by gunman

| 19/10/2010

(CNS): Updated 10:30am – The Grand Cayman Beach Suites in the heart of Cayman’s main tourist zone, Seven Mile Beach, was targeted by a lone masked gunman last night. A security guard was shot at during the robbery of the hotel’s back office but was uninjured. Police said that at about 11.17pm on Monday 18 October, the guard and two other members of staff were within an office at the resort. As the guard left the room he was suddenly confronted by a masked man armed with a handgun. The would-be robber demanded cash, pushed the guard back inside the room and discharged a shot. The guard quickly slammed the door, locking the suspect outside. The suspect then made off empty handed.

The guard sustained a minor knee injury in the shooting. He did not require medical attention. No one else was injured.

Bill Powers, the hotel’s general manger expressed his concern about the incident, and pointed out that the company had stepped up its security measures over the last few months as a result of worries that something would eventually happen in the Seven Mile Beach area. “This is very troubling,” Powers told CNS. Despite the hotel’s efforts the Beach Suites has become the latest in a long line of businesses hit by masked gun men.

Speaking to CNS this morning, Powers said he was still trying to piece together the night’s events and was uncertain if the robber had escaped with any cash. The general manger said the most important thing was that all the staff were unhurt. He also said that no guests were involved in the incident, which took place behind the scenes of the hotel in the finance office.
 
Although the hotel has sophisticated CCTV equipment and had recently reviewed and beefed up security, Powers said there was little anyone could do about a lone masked gunman. Wondering if the hotel’s size and accessibility made it the first target of the local resorts, Powers also said it could be an indication that the robbers were begin to realise what’s available. “We knew it was just a matter of time before something like this might happen, which is why we have taken more security precautions,” he added.
 
Detective Inspector Collins Oremule of George Town CID said: “We are treating this as an attempted robbery. The guard was lucky to escape with such minor injuries and there is no doubt that his quick thinking prevented this incident escalating. The suspect showed no hesitation in firing off a shot – we could have so easily been dealing with a murder this morning."

The suspect is described as being in his mid-twenties. He has a dark complexion and is around 5 feet in height. He was wearing long blue jean pants, a blue short sleeved shirt and his face was covered with a ski mask.

Oremule said, “If anyone has any information about the suspect, or was in the Seven Mile Beach area last night close to the Grand Cayman Beach Suites around the relevant time, we’d be keen to talk to you. You may have information which would be relevant to the enquiry. We need to trace this individual as quickly as possible – if he uses the gun again his next victim may not be quite so lucky!”

Anyone with information should contact George Town police station on 949-4222 or the confidential Crime Stoppers number 800-8477 (TIPS).

 

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  1. Anonymous says:

    Selling out and Moving to Spanish Wells in the Bahamas. Things will be A LOT different over there.

  2. Dennie Warren Jr. says:

    It is immoral and should be illegal to require under equipped security guards to be so variable, simply because the Commissioner of Police does not want to use the power he current has to properly equip them.

    • Anonymous says:

      The Commissioner won’t even arm his Police Officers, you really think he is going to arm security guards??? In another lifetime maybe.  You can rant, rave and blog, and he still isn’t going to arm security guards. 

  3. Anonymous says:

    09:17. They earn a living like everyone else. While their pay is not at the top end of the payscales, they make more then a person cleaning toilets. They choose that line of work and are compensated for the work they do. Nothing to feel sorry for them. Just like the Police, people feeling sorry, it is their JOB! I really feel for the store owner who is working hard and has someone  steal his/her hard-earned money. That is the person to have a feeling for, not someone who has employment in their field of choice. Righteous you feel? While the job seems really hard now as I do aggree with you on that, it has its rewards. Picture how the man behind the uniform must feel, that he saved the people from the gunman – pretty darn good to have a job that allows that kind of esteem and prestige. no amount of coin can take that from him, or give him that sense of pride. It is just another day at the office!

  4. Anonymous says:

    The governmental tourism policy has been to place Cayman as a high end tourist destination and the fallacy of that policy is becoming apparent to everyone. Weekly armed robberies are not the characteristic of an expensive high end tourism destination.

    One of the unfortunate attributes of the government is denial. I can remember when members of the government said with authority that there were no gangs in Cayman, they were only "groups".  Once again the denial is apparent with the government looking the other way in the midst of a series of armed robberies that can happen anywhere and anytime. Teenagers are committing armed robberies for fun for G*d’s sake.

    Will the government please wake up.

  5. Anonymous says:

    The ship has broken its rudder and is heading towards the reef. The pilots don’t know what to do. When we are grounded and everything is stripped of value, no one will want what is left of the ship and it will only be a memory at the bottom of the sea. The men who put her on the rocks weren’t sailors and didn’t even love the sea. There were fat merchants who pushed there way to wheel and highjacked us on to a course of thier own agenda fueled by thier own foolishness.

  6. Anonymous says:

    Time for Juliana (the end is near) to start praying MC and the fries better join in.  See- more or less can’t worry about our problems he has his own worries. He can be excused. The po-lice are doing as good as they can-which ain’t much. One big S@!% sand-which everybody has to take a bite. We put these morons in office- we said we were gonna fix it last election -same -same .SOSDD. The governor has the responsibility for the protection of this island so that sandwich lies squarely on his plate.  If he is generous he can offer Baines a bite. We have had a year + of B.S. and escalated crime with no real results except a bus load of excuses. Time to put up or shut up.  This crime wave can be stopped except no one wants to come down to reality.

    • Lachlan MacTavish says:

       I believe it is finally getting close the the time for The Premier and Deputy Premier to turn in their gold american express cards, the keys to the bullet proof SUV’s, time to terminate all the body guards, house staff, and hanger oner extra staff, turn all the first class air mails in, stop the custom furniture orders for the new offices, and clean out their offices. I don’t know if anyone else has noticed but Cayman is floundering economically and has a ever rising dangerous crime level. Now that the first guy hit a hotel it is only a matter of time before some idiot will copy that in hopes of making it big. Its unbelievable what has happened to my old home and country. Some one needs to get a grip and start leading the country. If the MLA’s would like to help their people and the country they can do something about it. If they just are in it for them selves then I guess we have to wait for the election.

  7. Anonymous says:

    12:21.  what do you want, a daily update or briefing? The Police will not even talk to the media let alone assure a citizen they are doing their job? It is more then apparent that they have their work cut out for them with the situations that are going on. It is daily that these Eggplants are doing some crime that is destroying someones life in some way, shape or form. They are as stupid as a vegetable. Crime is out of hand, the Police are doing the best they can, even though that is not even close to being on target, they get an E for effort.  You called about someone one not suppose to be there, I say I bet you will be taking a number waiting for a response on that one. Look at the present crime, it is alleged that the shooter was hanging around in bushes,waiting, stalking his prey if you will and striking at the right moment, like a wild ape in the trees. We are living in a jungle not in a civilized community being stalked by a someone that is the likes of something on the Discovery Channel and the Police are like taking Pre-school kids on an African Saffari hunt for wild apes – you can figure the outcome. You do not take pre-school kids there, maybe to a zoo, under supervision but on the Saffari it is just they are just not ready.

  8. masonic boom says:

    Our response to crime was to install corrupt political cronies and promote inept dummies who are totally out of touch with the reality. They created the NSC compromised of the elite and self righteous who simply live in lalala land but it sounds good.Now we wonder why crime is so bad . Cayman economic situation just merely added fire to this dire situation and made criminals get bolder and now justify their criminal actions. Now we crying as Cayman slips away from us.

  9. Anonymous says:

     Lets do the math. Population: 45,000. Less 22,000 women and lets say 5,000 children.Now we have 18,000 people left. . 80% are decent human beings. So what do we have left? 3,600 individuals. Divide it by 400 police officers. 1 police officer per 9 people. Hmm.. How hard is it to find criminals now? 

    Oh,  somebody said that response time could not take more than 1-2 min in certain cases. There is really nowhere to go for criminals. When does police arrive to a crime scene? Or should they rush to a crime scene or try to catch fleeing criminal using common sense and may be some training they had (if so).

    It really seems that a local police is a bunch of self-taught armatures who doesn’t know what they are doing or what they should be doing, not highly trained professionals.

    Who are behind 911 service? I hear that emergency call always go to a voice mail.

    But here is another question: what is the point of catching criminals if they would be let go later on by the judicial system?

  10. Anonymous says:

    Good Lord! I have very little to add because the posts have said it all. But as for the possibility that crims can get in and out illegally on overnight canoes, that is very real and in this case, highly plausible. Not even the most cracked out Caymanian crackhead would rob a tourist hotel!  As far as border patrol, the million-dollar RCIPS patrol boats spend more time on land. Doubt me? Just check behind the GT Fire Station any day of the week!!

    CNS, check that out with your cameras!

  11. Anonymous says:

    Jamaican resorts are NOT security enclaves. You have obviously never been to the resorts in Jamaica so stop posting nonsense. I have never been to a resort in Jamaica and seen security, I have never been told by any resort in Jamaica that I should not go out of the resort – you are talking absolute crock. Of course Jamaica is no different than other places and you will be told to stay away from bad areas and the drug dealers etc. but that goes without saying and bad things happen to people who hang with bad people – if you hang with dogs you get fleas.

    • Anonymous says:

      HUH? I have been to Jamaica (Montego Bay and Negril) many times and every hotel that I have stayed in has security guard that ARE visable day and night – 24 hours a day!! In Montego Bay when I have left the AI, they take down your name and room number and when you return you check back in.

      On another note, I have walked all over Mo-bay and Negril without a problem and have found Jamaica to be wonderful. BUT, all hotels have security and they also have policemen walking the streets in pairs!

       

      Please Cayman…do not become like this where one does not feel safe and you must check in and out of your hotel. One of the beauties of Cayman islands was always the safety. Stop the foolishness!

  12. West Bayer says:

    Mr Dart, as the head of Cayman, what will be done about this crime spree?We depend on an answer for as far as we can see whatever you say…..GOES!

  13. Anonymous says:

     I wounder if the police found the bullet this time

  14. Anonymous says:

    What will it take as a wake up call for the RCIP and the government to deal with these armed robbers?

    There can only be a dozen or two of these criminals in Grand Caymanand again there must be people who know who these armed robbers are.

    Cayman has already lost its greatest asset, a safe community. Until the Department of Tourism and the Chamber of Commerce wakes up and gets modivated to raise h*ll with the government these crimes will continue.

    Are these armed robbers being protected for some reason?

  15. Anonymous says:

    I just found that the island has 400 police officers. What  are they doing?

  16. cayman crying says:

    Caymanians, various of you posted about crime before that "Just wait until they start robbing places on 7MB, that’s when it will really get serious". 

    Well, here we are.  Now what? 

    Do the leaders care?  No.  They’ve got their world tours and new vehicles to amuse them, while Cayman falls apart.  They obviously don’t care.  Obviously.

    Will it change?  No.  For some reason the people can’t or won’t change the government, and the current leaders are fine with the fall of Cayman as long as they get their world tours and new vehicles along the way.

    How will it end?  Badly.  When the last bit of money has left and there are no more tourists, investors or expats making business here, the gunmen will be robbing us of our last little bits of food we manage to dig up from the land and sea. 

    Caymanians posted "just wait until …".  Well it happened.  Now what?

    Well?  Now what?

  17. Anonymous says:

    This is madness! Our tourisim product is already on a decline and crimes like these will affect it even further.

    Its time for the Governor, All Politicians, Police, Immigration & Customs to ban together and fight this escalating crime wave. It takes everyone to work cohesively to combat these criminals. Lets stop finger pointing at one department, everyone needs to be tasked with the objective of "taking control of this island"     Right now we’re running the country without a plan!

    People are financially frustrated we need to get people back to work and this will also take everyone working together:

    Local business owners hire your fellow Caymanians first, Pay them a decent wage and you will reap great rewards.

    Caymanians be willing to take an industrial or hospitality job. Be proud to have a job making an honest income and at the same time you can be an ambassador of your great island!

    Cayman is a beautiful island, lets all work together to make it a peaceful place to live and raise our children & grandchildren.

     

     

  18. Anonymous says:

    Well, well speechless is not the word dumb founded is how i feel right now the UK needs to send in the army and they need to become more like the other countries shoot to kill.

    The police with out guns now makes no sense anymore  so we need the army based in Cayman now maybe that will help

     The  police and the guards  can’t  help  not that they don’t want to  help  but with  out them having guns  the are also  like sitting ducks waiting to  be  killed

    • Pauly Cicero says:

      The military will shoot US too. I really don’t think you want to go there.

    • Anonymouse says:

      If you are talking about the UK Military, Forget it. The Governor and Police Commissioner are from the UK and it do not appear that they give a hoot about our crime problem.

      If you want to deal with the criminals arm the people and let us deal with them because we are the ones who are suffering at their hands.

      Yes the USA  have a lot of crime, but everyday the law abiding citizens get their chance at dealing with the criminals. Thats how it should be here too.

  19. Todd says:

    Now… you know… when they start committing crimes where they’re tourist – THAT’S THE END OF CAYMAN!

    The Premier needs to start lifting those high fees and providing more jobs for laid-off Caymanians and Construction workers – that is all I got to say

    🙁

    • Anonymous says:

      The economy does not make people rob with or without guns. I was without a job for a year and robbery never entered my mind. I went out and busted my butt and worked 3 jobs to make the salary that would afford me to keep paying my mortgage. I cut out the things that I could cut out and I worked hard, not in my field, but I kept myself afloat. Legally, without committing crime. Crime never entered my mind. Don’t blame the economy, that is just an excuse. There are jobs, maybe not what you want to do, but it is money and it pays the rent etc.

      Also, re. crime. People know who are doing these crimes. If you want the crime to stop then people need to start turning these criminals in. Bottom line. Until you do, you can talk about it all you want. And,yes, people are going to stop coming to GC and spending their hard earned money if they do not feel safe and that time is coming soon. Shootings at a hotel even if no one was hit (thank God) is one nail in the coffin. No one wants to feel unsafe and to spend thousands of dollars to do so just doesn’t make sense.

    • Anonymous says:

      Don’t you think we have enough  idiots running around.  Thumbs to what and who? What and who are the Peoples Party?

  20. Just Saying says:

    This island is starting to resemble a mental institution whree the inmates have taken over.

     It is utter madness that the level of crime and lack of response and control has escalated to the degree it has when it could have easily been curtailed A LONG TIME ago.

    Apathy brings you this result and soon all the firms will have relocated to other safer jurisdictions, the expats that work in those firms and who support the local economy will have gone with those firms or sought safer places to live and work and those expats that don’t work but support your crime and are involved in the gang, drug and money laundering, will have over taken Cayman.

    Good luck Cayman, I give it 5 years and you will have sunk like the Titanic.

     

    • Anonymous says:

      And remember, on both the Titanic and the good ship Cayman, the life boats are only in first class. The rest of us drown.

    • Joe Bananas says:

      Too many (if not all) of us expats it has looked like the mental patients had taken over a long time ago.  I doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that the measures taken by the CIG over the last 6 years would have the very effects that it has.  Grand Cayman has gone from a well oiled machine that didn’t take much upkeep to a busted up clunker that you can’t trade in for anything.  The Secret that Caymanians have been keeping from themselves?  Caymanians cannot learn from experience!  They must learn the hard way.   What is the hard way?  TOTAL FAILURE!

         I give it till the financial reports of the last 5 or 6 years come out (hopefully with the truth) or the next hurricane then your done.  Soon come.  Don’t worry.  Be happy!  Who ever picks up the pieces(UK?) will guaranteed do a better job.  The only ones that will not be happy are the ones that have been stealing a life from the workers of Cayman.

  21. Anonymous says:

     Alzheimer’s has set in for a lot of people in the country. It was not far from this area where a lady was abducted and lost her life elsewhere, in a crime that happened made the community outraged much in the same way that this has. It is all forgotten for the most part.

    These wild animals that are committing these crimes are very desperate. Nothing much other then putting a bullet in them will deter them from engaging in future acts of violence. Point being that this is not the work of an organized crime group, but rather some chimps that are just too stupid to see what could happen. I mean a man was shot dead in another mans house – he will not be robbing anyone again that is for sure, but it has not stopped the other people from engaging in raping the community of freedoms that it once enjoyed. 

    Yeah everyone is outraged, bla bla bla……everyday almost something is going on of the like. More talk from the community and no action. Crack heads are still hitting the pipe like an  Ethiopian would eat rice, guns are being passed around like a hooker in Las Vegas, the Police are trying their best to curb it but to no relief, but one must ask the question, what if they did nothing? We are all quick to point  a finger but look at what they do for us. We are all angry at this, but there is so much an Police Service can do for a community that is infested with criminals and a community that did/does not want to be Policed. It is a simple fact. You cannot turn s— into icecream. The question is not what more can the Police do, but what can a community do to stop producing such a useless citizen?

  22. Anonymous says:

    I want to know when 911 was called, did they immediately know which police station to dispatch the officers from?  Or did they need to ponder, West Bay or George Town? – George Town or West Bay?

    When will the Police realise that this is the prime area for crimes to be committed?  Do we need to wait for another incident like the murder of Estella Scott Roberts, from where she was abducted right across the street?  Do the police know how many vacant lots there are in that area?

    Is memory so short that we don’t recall the armed robbery of MC Restoration right there in that neighbourhood?

    I made a report on Friday night of someone being in that area that shouldn’t be.  I also made a report of theft and to now, I haven’t been reassured by the Police that they are doing their job in that area.  It was a waste of my time attending the Police Station to make the complaint.

  23. Anonymous says:

    The report says the robber is 5 ft; that really cuts down on the number of potential suspects. Should be easy to catch.

  24. Anonymous says:

    Has anyone considered the possiblity that maybe many of these "masked gunmen" are not residing in Cayman, but are entering our islands illegally (ie: sneaking on cruise ships, other boats?) And then once the crime is committed they flee back to where ever they are from? Just a thought…

  25. Anonymous says:

    If a Cayman sequel were to be written to Dostoevsky’s "Crime and Punishment", it could just be called "Crime" because our politicians simply refuse to ensure that there is punishment for violent crime.

    Why is it that the government refuses to do anything that might keep the violent criminals off our streets. Why do they refuse to toughen our laws on violent crime? Oh I forgot – they have police protection 24/7that we pay for – what do they care about the rest of us.  

  26. Anonymous says:

    RE: Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 10/19/2010 – 09:48

    You are absolutley correct but what I fear is that our police don’t even think that way. The cops are no where in sight. We can’t even protect our borders with any kind of offensive interdiction or tracking of incoming vessels. It’s a complete mess. There are people here with kalashnikov AK-47’s bought over from Honduras.

     

     

  27. Weary Caymanian says:

    We need a Security Company that can really handle the serious crime that we are experiencing now.  The  Security companies in Jamaica arm their guards, have guard dogs and patrol their areas where their guards are posted. 

    Cayman businesses also need to beef up their places.  Keep offices locked with a buzzer on the door or some kind of security entry.

    As bad as crime is in Jamaica you dont hear of banks, hotels, restaurants and gas stations being robbed.

    We have to be more pro-active in combatting crime. Depending on the police to catch them is not enough.

     

     

  28. Anonymous says:

     

    Detective Inspector Collins Oremule of George Town CID said: “We are treating this as an attempted robbery. The guard was lucky to escape with such minor injuries and there is no doubt that his quick thinking prevented this incident escalating. The suspect showed no hesitation in firing off a shot – we could have so easily been dealing with a murder this morning."
     
    Got to love this, “attempted Robbery but could have been a murder”. So why doesn’t he say we are treating this as an attempted robbery, murder, discharge of illegal fire arm and possession of illegal fire arm.? The Police need to show all the statistics when these crimes happen, right now there is a stat that only shows as an attempted Robbery and nothing else. Surely if they catch this guy this is what they would charge him/her for just to try and secure a conviction.
     
     
    I am not sure what the solution maybe, but what I can suggest is that we the public and business owners get together, raise the monies for CTV cameras (like Mr. Miller in NS), have these cameras pointing down the streets, and if anything is to happen we forward the video coverage to the RCIPS and news agencies. At least this way we can see which direction the persons have gone and hopefully the vehicles or mode of transport that was used. Oh and by the way we should also have these cameras on our shores because this is going to be the next form of escape for these guys.
  29. Tourist from Southern California says:

    What do you mean South Sounder,  "When will this and other stories register in the US media?"

    It HAS.  You think the World Wide Web and Cayman News Service is just picked up in Cayman?

    With Social Media, one click and it gets spread as fast as your tourism will dwindle if someone doesn’t do something quick!#

  30. South Sounder says:

    When will this and other stories register in the US media? When the visitors start going elsewhere, the problem will already be too difficult to resolve and our precarious tourism business will suffer.

    We need decisive action to deal with armed crime now, not when the first Ritz Carlton guest is gunned down.

    I’m afraid that our leaders and Police are not taking this seriously and pressure needs to be put on them to pull their collective finger out, stop pretending that the problem does not exist and address just how we are going to protect ourselves and our guests.

    Please can someone in Government pull their head out of the sand and tackle this problem, before it is too late, the rest of us are getting fed up hearing about armed crime, it now happens almost daily.

    • Twyla Vargas says:

      I maybe wrong but, I believe the problem of the robberies has to be tackled by the government first in putting in place certain laws to ban and prohibit.  Take for instance "A Mask"  Are we running Junkanoo parades that we are having so many masks.   If they are being brought in, they should be taken away by customs officers.  If they are being bought in stores, we should have to present an ID to buy a face mask.   Sometimes I wonder if Security at business places are trained to have an "eye" for suspicious persons, and keep that eye on them, (well I think so)  because I am sure these robbers are putting on their gear before entering the building.

      The police can only work with what is giving to them by the public and the government.  If certain laws are not put in place there is nothing the police can do to stretch the old ones.  There has to be a New Testament of amended laws for the fulfilling of the old ones.  We cannot keep or cake and eat it too.  This is only my two bits, and like  I said  I may be  wrong. Stay safe.

    • Anonymous says:

      Long on rhetoric and short on substance, are you sure you are not a politician.

       

      Lets hear your specifics on what is to be done.

    • Anonymous says:

      it is already is in the US media check on websites like trip advisor etc.

  31. Anonymous says:

    I would like to see the RCIPS get to the bottom of this gun business.

    Bust some crackheads, put wires on them and make him go buy some guns in exchange for a very lenient sentence (we can always round them up again later) and then send the gun dealers away for a very very long time.

    Someone is bringing in lots of guns. The state needs to really rough this person up, they are making a mess of Cayman. We need to stomp on the person who is trafficking in the guns. 

     

    • Pastor Bucket says:

      Boy you talk some foolishness!

      1. Entrapment

      2. Illegal

      3. Violence against gun runner is illegal

       

  32. Anonymous says:

    Speechless! Just speechless! It’s time to make some tough decisions!

    In 1764, Cesare Beccaria, an Italian philosopher who discussed punishment and deterrence, said: The laws that forbid the carrying of arms . . . disarm those only who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. Can it be supposed that those who have the courage to violate the most sacred laws of humanity, the most important of the code, will respect the less important and arbitrary ones, which can be violated with ease and impunity, and which, if strictly obeyed, would put an end to personal liberty — so dear to men, …and subject innocent persons to all the vexations that the guilty alone ought to suffer? Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.

    Thomas Jefferson quoted this passage in his "Commonplace Book", written in 1774-1776. Jefferson and Beccaria were not the first to question such laws. Jesus Christ, in Luke 22:36, said, "He that hath no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one." As far back as 350 B.C., Aristotle said, "Both oligarch and tyrant mistrust the people, and therefore deprive them of their arms."

    Laws restricting or prohibiting law-abiding citizens from possessing or carrying weapons do make things safer–for the criminals. Washington, D.C.’s ban on handgun sales took effect in 1977. By the 1990s the city’s homicide rate had tripled. New York, where the Sullivan Laws also ban handguns, has had one of the highest crime rates. California increased its waiting period on retail and private sales of handguns from five to 15 days in 1975 (reduced to 10 days in 1996), outlawed "assault weapons" in 1989, and subjected rifles and shotguns to the waiting period in 1990. Yet since 1975, the state’s annual homicide rate has averaged 34% higher than the rate for the rest of the country. The overall homicide rate in the jurisdictions that have the most severe restrictions on firearms purchase and ownership–California, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Washington, D.C.–is 23% higher than the rate for the rest of the country.

    In Australia, where the government recently banned virtually all guns, the crime rate has gone through the roof. Now the data are available for a full 12 months after the ban. Until the ban, over the preceding 25 years, there had been a steady decrease in homicides with firearms and armed robberies. After the ban, homicides are up 3.2 percent and assaults are up 8.6 percent. Armed robberies are up 44 percent. In the state of Victoria, homicides with firearms are up 300 percent! The results are similar in Great Britain, where handguns were recently banned. The estimated number of illegal firearms has increased to 3 million. Armed crime has risen by 10% since the ban, and the criminals are now using machine guns to commit their crimes. How can this be, when the new laws were supposed to eliminate the supply of firearms?

    There are numerous examples of victims who were prevented by law from having the means to defend themselves and were left at the mercy of their attackers. Whenever the police fail to protect one of these persons and suit is filed, the Courts hold that the government has no duty to protect individual citizens. Justice Keating of the New York Court of Appeals dissented from one of those decisions, saying, ““What makes the City’s position [denying any obligation to protect a woman who sought police protection] particularly difficult to understand is that, in conformity to the dictates of the law [she] did not carry any weapon for self-defense. Thus, by a rather bitter irony she was required to rely for protection on the City of New York which now denies all responsibility to her.”

    Sometimes there’s more than a grain of truth to old cliches. If the gun controllers have their way, only outlaws will have guns.

    Commissioner it’s time to make the call!

    For one who was completely against guns to begin with times have changed and so has my opinion. Dennie has been right all along.

    • Anonymous says:

      Dear Speechless,

      Speechless???

      I couldn’t even finish reading it

    • The Long or Short of it says:

      I beg to differ – you are definitely not "Speechless! Just Speechless!".

    • Anonymous says:

       With Cayman islands laws, judicial practice and law enforcement, lack of training, controls and local mentality  this island will turn into a battle field  if  general population, including security stuff will be allowed  guns. You can’t even compare US police force to the Cayman police. it is like comparing a 3 wheels  bicycle to a jet. Cayman police needs to learn how to ride a bicycle before considering operating a jet. 

  33. Anonymous says:

    I’m starting to think these guys might be working for the Bahamas tourist board! They could not do much more to put potential visitors think twice about coming to the Cayman Islands.

    Seriously though it is frightening to see how quickly a safe, developed community can degenerate into another crime-ridden Caribbean slum.

    • Anonymous says:

      The guard slammed the door to keep the robber out.  I hope the door was bullet proof.  This could have ended badly…Don’t encourage them to be heroes, they aren’t armed, they can’t even carry batons, asps, or mace. 

  34. Anonymous says:

    This is very bad news.

    When – when – when is the sorry excuse we have for a government going to stop their world travels and pass the laws we need to keep violent criminals off our streets? Businesses are putting in cameras and hiring guards. The politicians need to stop trying to hide behind the lie that the Governor has responsibility for our laws on crime. Only our politicians can pass laws to end the revolving door prison/holiday camp system. Only our politicians can double the current penalties for all violent crime and require significant minimum sentences. Only our politicians can end parole for violent criminals. Sentences for all violent crimes should be consecutive and never concurrent – there should be a penalty for every crime not just the first one. Please Mr. Premier – get on with it.

    • Joe Mamas says:

      When?  Not in your lifetime will your sorry excuse for a Government do anything that will help anyone but themselves.  when will the Caymanian people see this?  Same answer.  Watch (its all we have the right to do) as every problem gets worse, Caymans leadership gets greedier and richer, and more people go to crime or are victims of crime.  The Cayman of the past is long gone.  All that’s left is being torn apart by incompetent and greedy Caymanian leaders.  Those who will end up inheriting what is left over are in for a sorry existence.

  35. Sir Henry Morgan says:

    I feel it for the security guards on the island right now. Stupid long hours on minimum wage and now being shot at. Man they have it rough.

    • Anonymous says:

      No body forces them to work here.  Bear in mind the businesses they are guarding don’t pay much more then what they are being paid, including government…so don’t feel to sorry for them at least they are working more then some of these low life young men that rather rob and kill for what they want.

  36. Help! says:

    RIP Cayman Tourism.

    Welcome gated hotels, armed guards and a serious reality check.

     

  37. Absurdistani says:

    Despite business owners’ investments in security (guards, CCTV, alarm systems, etc etc) our current laws have their hands bound.

    Again, I appeal to our legislators to change Cayman’s security laws. Allow security guards in some locations to be armed or allow armed off-duty police officers to be hired by businesses that are willing to pay for this service. For PR reasons this change in the law can be a temporary/emergency measure and concealed weapons may be a requirement but things must change.  

    A list of relevant locations would need to be assessed but banks and hotels are the ‘golden geese’ of our economy so they come to mind immediately for treatment as exemptions to the current law.

     

    • Anonymous says:

      Concealed weapon carrying cops/security make sense since criminals won’t know which ones have lethal weapons and which ones don’t. That way they will have to think twice.

      It should at least be an option for security to carry non-lethal weapons like pepper spray, stun guns, batons etc. The current system is not working.

    • Anonymous says:

      Thats the problem NO BUSINESSES WANT TO PAY the extra money for this service. 

  38. Anonymous says:

    Now this is serious. The time has seriously come for the government, police, powers that be to really determine who is doing these crimes. As bad as Jamaica is with their crime it does not extend to their tourism industry – as the saying goes if you are going to s….t dont s….t on your own doorstep. I am not saying that there is not crime in Jamaica and possibly more so than here what I am saying is at least the criminals have the sense to stay away from the "bread and butter" of their country ie. tourism. They may go around killing themselves but they stay away from the tourist industry. Now that this has happened in Cayman you really have to wonder about the mentality of the criminal. Is it a foreigner who does not care whether or not he wrecks the stability of these islands or one of our own who has no sense what so ever. Now I am really really scared for these islands.

    • Anonymous says:

      I still say there is "CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER" in the Cayman Islands and if the Law enforcement Authorities don’t see it they are blind. The criminals are becoming bolder and bolder every day. Now they are breaking new grounds by targeting the very heart of one of our major source of revenue, Tourism. "Nero fiddled while Rome burnt". People are fearful to walk on the street, go to the beach, restaurant, gas station, sit on your porch and read your newspaper.There has been home invasions and general mahem in the Territory. We hear a lot of speeches and strategies being propounded as to howthis "monster" will be tackled but while "grass is growing the horses are starving". WE need action now to stem this upsurge in crime or it will consume us. IF we have to break from the English tradition and deal with crimes in the Caribbean then so be it.If police has to be armed, so be it. If we have to liberalise the laws relating to firearms so that households and businesses and security guards have access to guns , then lets get it on .Do we have to be so dogmatic on "London styled policing" that we can’t change?.It is said that necessity in the mother of inventions. It is now necessary to change or we willperish.

      • Anonymous says:

        Why do people always say "Clear and Present Danger" like it’s some sort of magical code phrase? So what if there is danger that is both present and clear? Do you think that means Harrison Ford will appear in a puff of smoke and save the day?

        I say we have "A Crime Wave that No-One is doing Anything About".  I agree it’s not quite as catchy.

    • Anonymous says:

      Jamaican resorts are security enclaves that tell the guests that they go outside at their own risk. People still go because the resorts are good value but you sure as heck can’t go wandering around on your own.

    • Anonymous says:

      I thought things had gotten serious when we started having monthly murders and weekly armed robberies. 

      Then I thought things would get serious when the violent muggings of tourists along SMB started.

      I thought the worst had definitely come to the worst when that 4 year old was shot dead and that animal attacked that girl and cut her throat in West Bay.

      I’ve been waiting for the governor, the police commissioner and the premier to call a press conference and tell us that they are taking this seriously and explain what they are going to do to fix it and I have seen nothing and heard nothing to indicate that anyone even cares.

      So I wish you were right, but unfortunately I don’t think that this is any kind of turning point and I am not holding my breath for any decisive action from the police or the country’s leadership.

      If there is going to be any kind of "we’ve had enough" moment, it is going to have to come from the people of the Cayman Islands.

    • Anonymous says:

      Very serious, thank you God it appears no tourist(with their children) were around the immediate are at the time. 

       

      When will Government show some SERIOUS interest in having Caymanians(persons that born, live here & have NO where else to run to & call home) qualified to deal with these SOCIAL ISSUES.  Invest some money, compel some employers to give time to persons interested in completing the Social Science degree at UCCI or elsewhere and compel all departments concerned in rehabiliation to give Caymanians a chance to get the experience they need to become social worker, probation officers etc.-stop the rubbish about so many years experience needed.

      Come on folks lets get back to the ‘village mentality’.

    • Anonymous says:

      One only need to drive out at night and you can see some odd people and the way that they are attired makes you realize that they are out and just waiting for a chance to attack . I know that our Police have more on their plate than they can eat but perhaps we could get some intelligent volunteer men and women also in each District to drive around in private cars and report to Police whenever they see any suspicious activity. Each area should 24 -7 have cops in and around the area. It is impossible for Police to deal with this high volume that we now have unless they get outside help.