Gunman’s victim thankful for his life

| 02/07/2011

(CNS): In an interview with Cayman27 Kemar Golding (28) tells the TV station he is glad to be alive. The assistant brewer from the Cayman Islands Brewery miraculously survived being shot through the side of his face in a shocking, senseless act of violence at the hand of a gun man in an attempted robbery. Golding has lost his eye and is preparing to go to Miami for surgery. Speaking from the Cayman Islands hospital he said the three robbers surrounded him and his friend as they took out the garbage from the chicken stand. Golding remembers them asking for money and one of the robbers telling the other man “to give him one” before he heard the shot and fell to the ground. He said he did not see his attackers and could not recognise them again.

Caybrew, where Kemar has worked almost since it opened, is offering a $5000 reward to help find the men who shot Golding and bring them to justice. Police have also confirmed that the botched robbery is being treated as an attempted murder enquiry.

Anyone who has information that could help catch and convict the the three men should call Crime Stoppers on 1-800-TIPS (8477).


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  1. Anonymous says:

    I doubt their will be any real action by the Police or Politicians unless there is some shooting massacre! They will twiddle their thumbs in the mean time.

    • Anonymous says:

      Governor Duncan,

      This gun amnesty is good but it's not RCIP's best. They still come up short in their performance. If the Comissioner of police is really serious about stamping out gun crimes in this country then he need to think about these words:-

      CRIME IS TOO SERIOUS AND IT'S TIME TO GO "HOUSE TO HOUSE"

      CONFISCATING GUNS.

      The British Marines need to come here and go house to ouse confiscating guns. Then conduct metal detector searces on property to find buried weapons.

      There's a lot of work to be done, Baines don't seem to know what to do.

  2. Anonymous says:

    No one is protesting because the Cayman Islands government still has their head in the sand pretending that we have no crime. Back in the 80"s the current government then brought in undercover officers from the USA and cleaned up the streets – this needs to be done again. Stop following the damned Brits with their conservative policing style – whilst this might have worked in the past and may work in the future now is not the time. We have to take this crime seriously and clean it up no matter what otherwise the country's tourism is going to suffer – and do not forget many Caymanians can also pack up and leave like the exodous of Jamaicans from Jamaica back in the early 70's & 80's and go to another country. Caymanians can move to the UK lest some of you forget.

    • Anonymous says:

      "Back in the 80"s the current government then brought inundercover officers from the USA and cleaned up the streets.. ."  

      –  It would be nice for the contributor to elaborate on this particularly piece of information.

    • Anonymous says:

      Anon 0833 you are confusing me.

      First you cry down the Brits then you tell them that we have the option to go there. If the Brits are here and messing things up why would we wan't to go to their headquarters?

  3. Ken P says:

    He's very grateful to be alive yet I'm afraid someone else might not be so lucky. The RCIPS knows that there are many crime hot spots and that small businesses are often at risk yet they don't do enough to assist. The issue with Cayman is that the politicians are too busy playing politics and the police are busy doing nothing. Our coastline is now under seige by "night crimminals" who are coming to Cayman in speed boats robbing businesses, home invasions and smuggling drugs/firearms. They are being aided by young Caymanians who are often too lazy and want to blame expats for them turning to a life of crime because they can't and won't go find an honest paying job.

    Mac, Taylor and Baines better get their act together and ask the UK for 200 miltary police officers who'll be armed and experience in dealing with gangs, drug smuggling and punks. Enough is enough and residents better be on close guard over the summer months as there's always an increase in robberies, break ins and violent offences as people go on vacation and temperatures increase, remember crime never sleeps.

    Blessings to all

    • Anonymous says:

      I can't ever figure out how Grand Cayman's coastline isn't secured. I mean, how difficult is it, in this day of technology, to create an electronically/patrolboat border at sea? Every square inch of Grand Cayman's coastline should be able to be monitored, surely? Is it rocket science?

  4. Anonymous says:

     

     

    I believe in an eye for an eye…….I therefore hope these useless predators are found and justice will be served for Kemar.  These animals need to be removed from society forever by whatever means…May God grant Kemar healing and the strength and perseverance to glorify Him through this senseless tragedy.  Our thoughts and prayers are with you Kemar.

     

  5. Anonymous says:

    I just hope someone finds the gun, and has the courage to submit it into Marlon Bodden's hand. One thing is for sure, crime is not just a police matter – It takes the whole community.

     

    Is that all you hope for ?

    How about hoping that Marlon Bodden and his colleagues will get off their comfortable arses and do some real police work in apprehending these murderers, keeping their rampage in check and, again making the Cayman Islands a safe place to live and visit ?

    Bleeding heart liberals like yourself are part of the problem…

    You're quite comfortable with a peaceful, forgiving, highly spiritual victim like Kemar, God bless his soul and life but Kemar comes from Jamaica.

    He has every reason to be thankful because, in Jamaica, had he been a victim of a similar incident, he knows that he would be dead…Jamaican gunmen don't usually leave their victims alive.

    Is that any excuse for not doing in Cayman, what the authorities and policedo in Jamaica to murdering criminals like these who shot poor Kemar in the face; that is…

    To hunt them down like the mad dogs that they are and bring them in dead  or alive…and for most law-abiding Jamaican citizens, preferably dead.

    Would you be as comfortable with an unforgiving soul like myself, should I ever be confronted with any of these so-called bad men, disarming them and shooting them dead with their own weapons..if I could get the better of them ?

    Cayman's citizens had better wake up and smell the coffee…

    Or there will be quite a few more victims like Kemar in the very near future.

     

  6. Libertarian says:

    In light of the comments I've seen here to get back at these thugs for their mindless act against an innocent bystander, what I didn't expect, was Kemar's attitude over this whole ordeal. Here was a guy who was shot in the face, lost his eye, and was close to losing his life, and yet, he publicly expressed no vengeful attitude, nor remorse for losing his eye. Kemar stated that the act was a "senseless" act, attributing to the ignorance of shooting someone for really no reason at all – just because he said he had no money to give them.

    Sometimes, our trials brings out the best in us, and God allows things to happen for a reason. It is easy for one to say, where is God and have a revengeful passion to get back at these criminal. But there appeared to be a peace, a calm in the victims demeanor as he lied on the hospital bed, as he gave God thanks for the life he has now. Many people ought to see the value of life like Kemar.

    I hope the best for him and wish he is vindicated. God knows and God has what is in store for those ignorant individuals that committed such a cruel act. I just hope someone finds the gun, and has the courage to submit it into Marlon Bodden's hand. One thing is for sure, crime is not just a police matter – It takes the whole community.

  7. Anonymous says:

    And   Premier continues as if nothing had happened. No statements.. Nothing. As if shooting people in his little kingdom is normal and a way of life. 

  8. Anonymous says:

    The police need to find these heartless thugs and the judge should sentence them to 99 years and one long night. Bunch of hoodlums.

    • Anonymous says:

      Maybe it's time for us to fight them, maybe it's time for us to talk, maybe we should tell ALL that we know about, maybe we can make a difference.

      I guess however after the 2 days during which we remain "horrified" we will forget this incident, bury our heads deeper, pray it is not us or someone we know, and continue on just like nothing is happening.

  9. The lone Haranguer says:

    Wow ! how did we get to this piont where we have young men in this country who are stone cold killers. Scary, we need to after we catch these young fellows have them thoroughly analysed by proffessional phychologists and find out what in there lives caused them to behave as they do.

    Revenge might make us feel good but it will not fix the base problem.

    We then have to go out and identify other young men who are travelling down the same road and try and get them onto the right track.

    We have to then try and really rehabilitate the offenders and release them back into society.

     

  10. Anonymous says:

    Why there are no protests organized? No press conferences? How long it is going to continue? Everybody already forgot another 2 innocent victims that were attacked with machetes last year for no reason at all? Is it because last year victims were Fillipino and this guy is Jamaican? Everybody forgot 4YO child shot and killed last year? Everybody forgot a woman shot in the face in the broad light in GT last year? Why police is not blocking ALL roads and busts into every house in the vicinity? WHY? WHY? Why are they getting paid for doing absolutely nothing? Again and again and again? There are more than 400 people employed by police. Grand Cayman is the size of a Texas ranch. Something is seriously wrong here. And someone has to be accountable for that. That is his duty-to protect people of this island. He is their servant.  Desperate time require desperate measures.Someone with a brain and power should come forward and take things under control, protect people of this island and its guests. Everything else comes second.

    • Libertarian says:

      You do have a valid  point. Instead of consuming our energies in protesting projects, why hasn't the Opposition leader and UDP leader, come together and protest to the Governor for the crime. It is a nationalissue and will for sure destroy Cayman if it is not fully dealt with.

      It seems like we have our priorities mixed up