Man shot dead in West Bay

| 09/09/2010

(CNS): Police now have confirmed that a twenty-year-old man has been shot dead at a home in the Birch Tree Hill area of West Bay this evening (Wednesday 8 September). Offices are currently at the scene where it is believed the shooting took place a little after 8pm. Officials were unable to give any more details about the circumstances of the shooting but say they have launched a murder investigation. A police spokesperson  stated that the RCIPS expects to be able to update the public with more details tomorrow morning but did not say if any arrests had been made. The police helicopter was deployed in the area soon after the incident.  (Photo Dennie Warren Jr)

This is the sixth murder of 2010 and the seventh death as a result of a gun. The last murder was that of Damion Ming in the same area of West Bay in March. Harryton Rivers was then shot and killed by a homeowner who was a licensed firearms holder during an attempted burglary in July.

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  1. What are you doing??? says:

    So far in these comments I’ve seen pure ignorance. I guess what they say is true, Ignorance is bliss!

    For all those who feel it is right to call down and blame others for the things that happen why don’t YOU take a stand and do something about what’s going on! Your so quick to jump up and say the parents this, the Government that, RCIP this… What are YOU doing to make Cayman a better place????

    This is very sad as we have lost too much of our youth too soon. For such a close knitted community, we as people should be able to come together and make a positive progression for ourselves, our youth, future generations and OUR island. 

    My deepest condolences to the family and friends of the young man who lost his life.

    It is never right for someone to lose their life by the hands of another human being.

    Proverbs 28:17 "A man tormented by the guilt of murder will be a fugitive till death; let no one support him." – NIV

     

  2. West Bayer says:

    Oh and get dem CCTV’s up on dem light poles STAT!

    Boy yah see the curse dem MLA’s bringing to West!!

    • Sheerluck Holmes says:

      CCTV has no indentifiable impact on reducing crime levels, especially violent crime.  UK studies indicate that. if anyhting, once the diversion of the costs of operation from other police activities is taken into account CCTV probably has a slightly negative value in terms of law enforcement.

      Saying that since West Bay is the alpha and omega of almost all the violent crime in Grand Cayman a CCTV on at the 4 Way stop could arguably be worthwhile.

  3. Anonymous says:

    There a very few real men on this Island. Any guy who’s pants are down, with underwear hanging out, 50 lbs of gold hanging of his face, neck and ears looks like a clown. They need some big ole’ clown shoes and a big ole’ clown hat to go wif dat. Where did you guys get this from? Watching the circus when you were kids?

    • Anonymous says:

      Don’t know where the underwear thing came from, but the 50 lbs. of gold seems to be a little bit of culture, so tread lightly.

  4. Anonymous says:

     

    Many men will agree that being a father is the most rewarding relationship that they have. Children begin by loving their fathers unconditionally. It is a clean slate. There is nothing the father has to do to earn his child’s love. The difficult part is not losing it. As the child goes out into the world, he will see all kinds of men whom he will look to as models as well. It is crucial that his father stay active in his life and help him make intelligent decisions. A boy without a father will look elsewhere to fill his father’s shoes.


  5. A. Dobson says:

     Hide yo’ kids, hide yo’ wives, and hide your husbands ….

  6. Anonymous says:

    My condolences to the family of this young Caymanian… There is nothing negative to say about him and I am asking that everyone else, whether they knew him or not, refrain from posting negative postings about the young man.  I know that times were tough for him and he tried to live his own life at his pace and I will always remember him as a very well mannered person who was always looking for a good chat, no matter how tough it was.

    I am sure that his family would like to mourn their loss and not necessarily have other persons who deem themselves as grown ups post any crudeness about him. I know that the majority of persons posting on this site is a parent and/or a responsible person, please do not intervene in this investigation and let the police continue with their quest to catch the person/s who committed this act.
     
  7. The Truth is Out There says:

     

    You’d think all these murders would be a good deterrent to keep the younger wanna-be gangsters from living that way but I guess not. The police should round up these idiots and drop them all off in the ghettos of NY, Detroit or LA where the real gangsters are and see how long they last. The general public don’t really care if they kill each other off as long as that’s where it ends. The parents of the up-and-coming gangster punks need to get control of their kids before they kill another innocent bystander who happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

    • Pending says:

      The majority of the gangs here were formed from a select few who left the island and did exactly what you mention in your post. They then came back here with what they learned in those ghettos and voila, there you have it.

  8. Ya Mon says:

    Same old same old, another day in Cayman. 

    There’s no story here folks.  Just move along.

  9. Anonymous says:

    is very sad whats happened in cayman , we can’t  expect the police is in all places at all times,we also have to consider that people are afraid to talk

    especially when it is so difficult to prove the crime and when they go to trial most of them come free of charge,I think this is a general problem, not just the police, not just government,is also a community problem. Many of us spend our lives blaming one or other, but the reality is that what  we do to help those who need it? , we are all busy with our lives that we forget our children, our neighbors, nobody cares what happens in your neighborhood.we as parents have to know where our children are
    Try to motivate them to study, to see the positive side to things, teach them that the street only gives problems
    we are living in a world where law applies eye for an eye and that we all know is wrong
    let us all get up and try to create a better world .
     
    my sincere condolences to this family

     

     

     

     

  10. Anonymous says:

    Her Hum! You cant call the shooting of Harryton Rivers a Murder. No criminal charges were brought against the shooter.

    CNS: We didn’t. Read it again.

    • Rational Thinker says:

      Even if charges were brought, this would not mean that a murder had been committed.

      • Anonymous says:

        EXACTLY!!! More like this man protected himself from being the victim….If I am not mistaken, Errr Ummm wasnt it his house that was broken into?????? Uhhh Duhh that so!!!

  11. Anonymous says:

    Living with violent crime is something terrible.Come on Cayman !, the police and the community, we simply don’t need to be sliding toward South African style murder rates.

    http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/110-police-killed-in-200910-20100909

    19 people murdered in Cayman in a year would put you on par with SA – where are we at now?

     

  12. A Concerned Young Caymanian says:

    you know how appalling it is to see people come on this site just to chat the most crap about situations in which they have no clue… he wasn’t robbing anyone and the guy was a good reasonable person… my condolences go out to his family; and as I am a friend, all the rest of his grieving friends..

    he was no shooter, he wasnt a spoiled kid… he actually had it rough, and did survive on his own.. by his own means..

    kindly refrain from any further disrespectful comments and realize that its another fellow young caymanian that is gone… and that all it takes for anyone of you, or your children to end up in crossfire is for them to be in the wrong place at the wrong time… simply because thats just how cayman is getting.. sad but true..  so stop trying to point the finger for this tragedy, we’ll point the finger when the poilce do their job and catch the murderer…

    R.I.P… To All Young Caymanians who have passed

    • Thankful Again says:

      I concur with your sentiments wholeheartedly.  I too knew the young man and found the same thing about him, that you mentioned. 

      Actually, in many ways he reminds me of one other young man killed last year, while talking with some other friends of his….he hung around his "friends", some of who made negative choices; but, he was strong enough in mind/will to reject getting involved with any thing that would harm others or his country.

      In fact, I often heard this young man talk about God and on a couple of occasions bid our interactions with "God bless you".  I can recall thinking about that after we parted ways.   I also heard him talk about trying to get a job – relentlessly.  Of course to no avail.  That should be what we are talking about. 

      My prayers are for his family.  His soul. Our community. And the police that they would be led to find the killer (s) that took young Tyronne’s life.

      May he R.I.P.  I pray our father held him with the embracing arms that he could not seem to find here on earth.

    • Anonymous says:

      We all have children, grand children, cousins, and the what have you. We can only sympathize, and stop blaming Cops, Mr Baines and others. Even sometimes when children have the right bringing up they go astray. But the majority of kids who has grown up with single parents and under rough circumstances are usually who get in trouble. I have always said that if social clubs Churches and the communitys come together and identfy the homes that have these kids growing up under poor conditions and each member saaist with one child ,we would have much better young men. It dosent cost much, you only have to make alittle time to have them over to your homes for perhaps a sunday dinner, check on their school work have them at your homes at christmas day whenever you are collecting your kids from school give them a ride in your expensive car, assist with school books and clothing whenever you can afford, and most of all take them to church with you. Always let them feel that they have somebodywho cares. Then set a standard so high for them that they have to reach somewhere. Last but not least ,do not embarrass them by putting their pictures in the press when you are assisting or giving their mother a check, this especially DONT WORK. Let us search ourselves and see that what we do are not to elevate ourselves. There is a certain Caymanian lady who is very private with her doing and have saved several youth in her time. It was not because she could afford to but because she have a love and concern for her community.  She could always be seem at the Thrift Shop, the Red Cross buying clothing for whoever had the need , delivering food baskets, and if no more than 5 dollars giving for school lunches. These same kids have grown up to be good citizens of this country today. So I believe that the key to this is moving around quietly and assisting these familys. Please forgrt about the pictures in the papers, it just dosent work.

  13. Queen says:

    I m soory that this happened and it will never stop loud mouth draw crowd thats why we shouldnt gather at peoples houses after hours something is bound to go on exspecially in that neighbourhood ;I know iam from their, Two muders at the same venue both three feet away from each other my condolences to this childs mother.Its like they draw you in to kill you witnessing the first munder now your the victim in the second god dont sleep nor slumber that yard they would forever wonder untill justice is made.

  14. Anonymous says:

    i was going to come back to islands for a vacation with my husband, but cayman is not the place it use to be and we are not sure if it is safe, a friend of ours came a few months ago & got robbed on west bay road, they said the police were useless and treated them like criminals.
    so will not be returning!

  15. livingcayman says:

    The Police don’t have a clue.  Once the 15 or so is gone there will be another up rising of new thugs.  They have to get out there and start on the new thugs coming up before they get a better foot hold and start the same trends that the 15 left behind.

    Why is there not beefed up Police patrols in these areas that the shootings are taking place? Why havent the police put foot patrols on the West Bay Road to protect our tourist at night?

    • Anonymous says:

      Because, if you havent noticed, the police is on its arse right now! At least 70 officers short, at least 10 cars short and only a few carrying firearms… Hello?

  16. Pro-NativeCaymanian says:

    wat a problem we are having on our dear island. apart from the gangsters we have bad PR comming from the police that are desperate to make it seem like they are doing such an incredible job. i am trying to wrap my head around this idea that was in our compass "15 of 15" in jail or dead YAY…. wait "triggermen off the streets" YAY…… wait where are all the guns ?if these so-called triggermen are off the streets and there guns arent guess what we still have a problem on our streets surprised

    good ole commen sense to me i na knw why we are always being mis-educated with whats goin on

    sad caymanian

    • Tracy from Swamp says:

      Parents need to do something about their old spoil children or cry for them.

  17. Anonymous says:

    God help us!

  18. whodatis says:

    I hope this thread doesn’t nosedive into accusatory and sarcastic swipes towards Baines and the RCIPS.

    Primarily the blame for these murders lies with the many idiots that have chosen the "thug life" way to live. (To most readers the significance of that term will be lost on you.)

    Guys – you are Caymanians. The rappers and artists that you are copying and emulating would LOVE to be in your shoes! They would also laugh you out of a real ‘hood if you were to dare to align yourself with their plight.

    Not many Caymanian young men truly know what it is to grow up deprived and destitute in an inner city ghetto with a long gone father and sharing with 6 siblings a crackhead for a mother.

    Such victims of society I could muster up a bit of compassion and understanding towards – however, the majority of these idiots running around this island – not an ounce.

    You guys are an absolute disgrace and the MANY young women (girls) that idolize, sleep with and fight over you are an EVEN BIGGER DISGRACE!

    Our "baby mother" sector of the community is being spearheaded by these VILE and DISGUSTING young female creatures.

    (Don’t get me wrong, Whodatis is far from a saint – however, I was wise enough to avoid the lowest of the low when it came to "relations" – especially procreation!)

    I am thinking of an individual recently mentioned in a number of offenses – dude comes from a 2 parent home, both parents are hard working and he has enjoyed nothing but a very comfortable upper middle class background. Dudes like him really need a pimp slap twice to the face – wannabe punk. (Btw, at last count this young man had at least 3 kids with 3 different women – a few of them are "respectable, professional young Caymanian women" as well. Go figure.

    (Oh, I can hear the defensive baby-mothers getting ruffled up now! No doubt they are now in the church complaining to their pastor that "There are no good men around for us to be with." When the truth of the matter is that you really don’t / didn’t want the "good guy" at all. You wanted Mr. Tattoo & Towel – congrats!)

    Sadly, his type are a dime-a-dozen these days. They’re driving around all afternoon, sunglasses on, tattoos, hair braided, towel on the shoulder, leaning to the side in their baby-mothers’ tinted out rides … coming around her work place to pick up some lunch money! (Please tell me who is the biggest fool in this relationship? I can’t figure it out.)

    Please excuse the rant but I am just tired of the waste of young life and potential all around us. Too many of our young men are growing into physical men without having mentally matured beyond the age of 17.

    Please tell me – how can they possibly be sound future leaders of their communities and families? However, what is most worrying in all of this is that these very regressive young men are the MOST SOUGHT AFTER by the majority of our YOUNG WOMEN! (Enter the denial.)

    Oh yeah, almost forgot – parents … the ones with kids born in the 80’s and 90’s – a LOT of you really and truly DROPPED THE BALL!!

    Thanks a lot.

    • Former Caymanian Athlete says:

      I am glad that someone else had the guts to say this!! I have been saying this a long time but because I am a female they label  me ‘stuck up’ or ‘high maintenance’.  Well excuse me if I think that I am worth enough for you to get up of your butt, find some sort of ‘legitimate gainful employment’, so that you can have the cash to buy me lunch and pick me up in your ride. (it don’t have to be fancy, we can go to Wendy’s and drive w/out a/c if you want to save on gas).

      whodatis- maybe, just maybe they will listen to you and wisen up.  Also I just want to let you know that there are more out there like me you just have to pay attention.  She could be that shy quiet wallflower that gets passed over because of all the noise these ‘gussed up’, ‘painted up’, ‘over the top’ females always make over Mr. Tattoo and Towel.

       

      • Anonymous says:

        Some ‘class’ at last!  Well said!  You are worth much more too!  Most important, keep the respect for yourself!

      • whodatis says:

        @Former Caymanian Athlete:

        Well, aren’t you a welcome breath of fresh air?

        Thank you for showing yourself Miss Lady – keep doing "you" … if he hasn’t come along as yet he’s just running a bit late.

        Never compromise yourself but be fair and realistic at the same time.

        Thanks for commenting.

        Take care.

        P.S. As for the "wallflower" bit – I could not agree more. I myself have let a few honorable "wallflowers" slip through my fingers in the past. Such is life I guess.

    • O'Really says:

      Whodatis, this time I had to sit down, because for the second day running I am going to have to give you a thumbs up. 

    • Anonymous says:

      suprising as it may be many caymanian kids do,know what it is to grow up deprived and destitute in an inner city ghetto with a long gone father and sharing with 6 siblings a crackhead for a mother or similar,u have no idea…

    • Anonymous says:

      Whodatit – Excellent post. Thank you.

      To you and those that have posted replies agreeing with you – please continue to speak up. Cayman needs people who are willing to speak up and speak out against the gangsta and baby-momma culture that is contributing to the destruction of Cayman.

      • whodatis says:

        Thanks.

        I only call it as I see it.

        Please forward this post – I am guessing the individuals that need most to hear it don’t make a habit of logging on to CNS … send a forward or fb message.

        Its only hot air if it fails to reach the relevant ears.

        By the way, I am a bit surprised and humbled by the positive response. I was afraid it may have been too much of a wild rant.

        Anyway, I appreciate the support.

        Take care.

    • The Final Solution says:

      I agree with Mr. Whodati!

       

      While I have strong thoughts as to why this society has been lead down this path.. i.e. the death of the philosphy of the men as the main providers in our modern value added society and the women role as a mother and supporter of her partner. With the role changed or skewed in such a short period of time young women and men are lost as to the historic and modern role of a man/woman.  The values we try to instill are antiquated but very worthy as they worked since Adam and Eve.  I am not preducial against women empowerment but this is what happens when something is fooled with without due consideration.  To the few human beings tht have been able to adjust you must now live in fear of the many people who have not and are fustrated and unable to cope with their new found roles.  These young women with their careers have a need to nuture and an independent strong industrius man does not seem very needy to them hence they pcik up the weak (mentally not physically) Likewise, may strong (mentally) men are wise to choose women who meet a more traditional role as it will create more balanced children which ultimately serve to benefit the parents and society as a whole.  I am a young Caymanian born in the 80’s but I have been wise enought to 1 educate myself and 2 mostly by circumstance i.e. attractive young caymanian women wanting mostly thugs I have managed to avoid this pitfall and have found myself a traditional lady who stays home and cooks, cleans and takes care of my children and supports my advancements.  Do I drive an escalde "No" do I take 12 trips to Miami a year "No" does my two year old know how to read and spell his name "yes"and yes I make enough money to live without the support of the state and I own my own house too.  It is not hard to do it but I admit I was one of the most intelligent young men in all my classes growing up and managed to have a healthy does of respect for adults, teachers generally. I am no saint neither but I do consider myself one of the human beings on this islands.  I am hopeful that as the pendulum swings we will all find ourselves or our children will find the "value" of culture and society and revert back to the classical system of family can we can put this behind us. I admit it is hard but a man’s or woman’s wealth is not in the things they own but in the name they keep and the family he/she has.  When you go home to your house tonight keep this in mind when you think about all the things you don’t have remeber all the potential your children have and what they are really worth.

       

      Respect yourself before you wreak yourself..I wish I saw more wallflowers around

      • whodatis says:

        @ The Final Solution:

        Hard to find the words to express just how much I agree with your views.

        Excellent post brother!

        All the best to you and your family.

        Take care.

    • Anonymous says:

      Perfectly written and I agree totally!

    • Anonymous says:

      Condolences to the family of the young man.

      I see that many people seem to have a picture painted of how a "thug" /gangster or criminal looks. While you have a valid point with what you are saying, I just want to point out one thing. Just because a person will dress a certain way, does not mean that it is fair to judge their character on that. Yes, there is a saying that goes "first impressions are lasting impressions" and maybe your first impressions when seeing someone (young male) with tattoo’s, braids, dark shades etc. is that they are a thug/wannabe. We live in a world where (I hope), one is entitled to freedom of speech, expression and culture. It’s the same for a person that maybe has dreads- the perception may be that he/she doesn’t do anything but smoke weed all day.
      A while ago, a friend shared with me a story about a Nigerian man whose fate was changed, all because of the one suit and the one briefcase that he sported one day. We seem to forget that the real criminals were the ones who were always well dressed and well spoken. Even today we are fooled by men that ‘seem’ to be decent but for some reason they would never strike us as someone who kill, rape, steal, cheat, lie? Not everything that glitters is gold..
      People love to talk about, and frown upon women when they do even the slightest thing but for decades men have managed to get away with their follies. People speak about ‘outspoken, educated women’; women from ‘prominent’ families’ picking up a man who society may class as lesser than their equal. I’m sure many of us know the phrase: another man’s trash is another man’s treasure!
      No one really stands up to talk about the men who marry certain women, who they know do not love them, but rather, for what they have and what they are willing to offer. There are many Caymanian men/ young boys who seek the girl with the lighter shade skin, the longer hair, the slimmer physique, a little Spanish/ American accent etc. A pretty person, may not be so pretty on the outside. I’m sure that there are rich people just as intertwined with drugs and guns just as much as the ‘thugs’ on our streets. The only difference with them maybe that they are not that well know amongst us. Some are silent, some live in the dark. Some are working class people who are cheater, drunks and domestic abusers.
      I guess it kind of stems from the whole perception of ‘ghetto’ vs. classy. Are we seeing the difference that a little perception makes?   
       
      People find it easy to say that they blame the parents but put yourself in a mothers/ fathers shoes: one that has done everything that they could possibly do to bring their child up right. Just like God with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. They had everything, including the instruction not to do something- and what happened? they were led astray.. Many people forget that they have kids and one day, someone may be pointing at you saying, "its your fault".
  19. Anonymous says:

    I though the police said that all the gunmen were either dead or in jail.

    • Anonymous says:

      to 01:08

      Someone must have been released. Should be easy enough to track down.

      • Tequila Rose says:

        ‘Should be easy enough to track down.’  Not if they have that monitoring devise in their legs/ankles.

    • Anonymous says:

      or off Island….

      • A Concerned Young Caymanian Father says:

        The "gunmen" are indeed in jail. But, the ones that are still here and the one that recently returned is still on the streets and free to do these deeds. Isn’t it more than just coincidence that when a certain individual, who is known for being involved in these and other sorts of criminal activities, returns to the island that these violent/gun crimes start happening again??

  20. noname says:

    Yes we had listen to that dreadful drone of platitudes on Rooster last week Friday by of our two top crime cops about how "tings being under control". Both should be sacked or dismissed for incompetence and letting this crime situation get out of control. What a shameful situation our little island is in. Now they are trying to blame Commissioner Baines. He is only as good as the men under him and it appears he is in dire need of serious help. All the good officers that this little crew who can’t even pass a lie detector tests, push out need to be reinstated or some solution sought before this slips off into the Abyss of criminality again. What a bunch of jokers.

    • Tracy from Swamp says:

      Stop spoiling the children, let them get a job, and stop cooking and washing and boading your bad children.  Put them on the street and let police pick them up for vagrancy.

  21. Anonymous says:

    I am hoping that one my postings will be seen on the stories on this website!

    This is almost a daily occurrence in Cayman. It’s just such a sad state of affairs.  Seriously…..what is it going to take before the Police admit they need help?  The Island should not be ashamed of accepting help from those that deal with the big guys.

    I can’t believe it! 

  22. Anonymous says:

    strange how the headline didn’t illicit any alarm from me.  hope our communities are not becoming numb to crime….

  23. Anonymous says:

    Oh lord wat is this island coming too……….these people need serious help :'(

  24. Anonymous says:

    Gunman-men flexing their heavy firepower once again in the Cayman Islands, West Bay in particular.

    I guess tomorrow the Commissioner will say, "The killer is Shooter Number 16"  !!!! 

    • Anonymous says:

      I agree or  maybe there is a new round of killers, He always have an  answer.

    • Anonymous says:

      What happened to the 12 or was it 15 people of interest that we had to worry about that was being watched by the police?  Remember the statement made by the commissioner?