a shooting outside a popular eatery in Grand Bahama on Saturday left one man dead and pushed the murder count in the nation’s second city to seven so far this year.

Up to press time Sunday police were withholding the identity of the victim pending notification of next of kin.

Chief Supt. Basil Rahming said it was around 4:05a.m. Saturday when the Duty Officer at the Police Dispatch Centre in Freeport received a telephone call, informing police that a young man had just been shot and had collapsed in the vicinity of the Pepper Pot Take-Away Restaurant on East Sunrise Highway.

Mr. Rahming said uniformed and plainclothes police units were dispatched to investigate.

"Upon arrival at that location, the information was confirmed as officers found the lifeless body of a dark male, clad in camouflage trousers, a white T-shirt and a pair of black shoes, lying face down on the ground with multiple gunshot wounds to the head and back," he said.

Mr. Rahming said a preliminary investigation revealed that the nation’s 47th murder victim was at the take-away restaurant, along with a number of other persons, when he became embroiled in a heated argument with three other young men reportedly over a woman.

"This quickly escalated into an altercation, during which one of the young men reportedly pulled out a handgun and fired multiple gunshots at the deceased, hitting him about the head and body, right in front of the other shocked patrons," Mr. Rahming said.

After being shot, Mr. Rahming said the victim reportedly ran towards the car wash at the northwestern section of the parking lot, where he collapsed to the ground and died.

After police had processed the crime scene, Mr. Rahming said the young man’s body was transported to the morgue at the Rand Memorial Hospital, where an autopsy was to be performed.

He said Central Detective Unit officers have launched an intensive investigation into this matter.

Source: Bahamas Local News

Genymphas Higgs, 18, is the first Grand Bahamian to receive the All-Merit Scholarship.

Higgs, scoring an impressive 2210 on his SAT's and seven A's on the BDCSE's this year, has always been looked at by administrators as an intelligent young person. He even managed to really wow his parents by being honored as valedictorian of his graduating class of Bahamas Catholic High School in June.

Higgs has always loved biology and had some interest in engineering. when he began to mix these two interests he peaked an interest towards developing and enhancing agriculture.

He he plans on making his home Bahamas the first site for experimentation. By using bioengineering, Higgs says he can create crop seeds that could be disease and pest-resistant. Also, by modifying them the seeds could adapt and grow in sparse soil conditions.

Such work can allow the Bahamas to become more self-dependent with food and increase exports in produce to new markets. Higgs is very much looking forward to doing this but says it could take up to 10-15 years.

When asked if he feels pressure to succeed, he simply answered that his best isn't always reaching success, but knowing at the end of the day that he's tried his best. Higgs will be attending Pennsylvania University in September.

read the rest of the report at BahamasLocal.com

What appears to have been a family outing in Turtle Cove, Long Island, ended yesterday in tragedy as three women drowned in waters fifteen to twenty feet offshore, two of them trying to rescue a relative in distress.

Acting Assistant Commissioner of Police Hulan Hanna told the Journal last night that the victims had been identified as 45-year-old Faye Major, her daughter Diedre, 14, and her sister Renee Pinder, 40.

Police information is that the three women were part of a family outing with Bishop Harcourt Pinder in Turtle Cove, near Dean’s Blue Hole, around 3PM Wednesday when the incident occurred.

When police arrived at the scene, they met the lifeless bodies of the three women laying on the shore.

"Further information revealed to us that sometime around 3PM on (Wednesday), one of the females was in the water, and she was walking when it is believed that she fell into a hole – some are describing it as a blue hole," he reported. "The other two females saw her distress, and they went to assist her."

"It was at this time that they, too, became a part of this perilous situation, and it is believed that they all lost their lives as a result of this very, very unfortunate incident."

Mr. Hanna explained that the bodies were flown to Nassau last night.

"Investigations are continuing, by officers there assisted by officers from the capital.

The acting ACP said that all indications from officers in Long Island suggested that as the first victim was walking in the waters 15 feet to 20 feet off the shoreline, she fell into a dark area.

"At this point, we do not know conclusively if this was in fact a blue hole, but it was sufficient to overwhelm her and to create the fallout effects for those persons who came to rescue her," he said.

Mr. Hanna dismissed the idea of foul play out of hand.

"Absolutely not. These persons were there on the beach with Bishop Harcourt Pinder, who is the father, and his wife Hazel Pinder, and another young daughter," he said.

"It seemed to be just a family outing that just went terribly awry."

By Quincy Parker

The 50-year-old Haitian man arrested by the police in Grand Bahama last week with more than $2.3 million cash in his possession has been released from police custody pending further investigation, the Journal has learnt.

According to Head of the Drug Enforcement Unit in New Providence Superintendent Anthony Ferguson, the Haitian man, a construction worker, was released this week as the police tried to determine how the funds were derived.

"We still have to determine the source of the funds," said Supt. Ferguson. "He has not been formally arraigned and this matter is still under active investigation. As soon as we complete our investigation, a determination would be made."

"He has been released pending [the investigation]. You have to have sufficient evidence before you can put somebody before the courts and we like to do our investigations. The law does not permit us to keep people locked up forever," he said.

He said that he does not know if the man has retained an attorney since his release.

"Once we are able to make a clear determination, then we can determine where to do go from there," he said.

Officers from the Central Detective and Drug Enforcement Units arrived at the man’s #2 Royal Palm Apartment, located on Fortune Drive in Freeport, around 9 pm last week Monday, according to police reports.

Officers were alerted after someone tripped an alarm at the complex.

Officers reportedly found bundled U.S. dollars littering the ground and the door to the residence off the hinge.

Police waited at the home until the apartment’s tenant arrived.

Then, a further search of the apartment turned up four suitcases packed with $2,378,213 dollars in cash – all but $18,495 in US currency.

Police confiscated the money suspecting it to be "proceeds derived from criminal conduct."

According to Supt. Ferguson, the police will be in a position within the next week or two as to whether to file charges, and what charges will be filed.

"A week is not a long time. There are a number of lines of inquiries that need to be completed before we can put a matter before the court. You don’t want to put an incomplete investigation before the court," said Supt. Ferguson.

"I cannot give an exact date as to when we will be making a final decision without all of the facts and all of the information that we need. It is rather difficult to say," he said.

It has been rumored on Grand Bahama that the Haitian man in question is known as a ‘numbers’ man, but Supt. Ferguson said that could not be confirmed by the police.

"I am not in a position to confirm or deny those rumors but you can imagine that once the investigation is concluded, we will be in a better position to present the case," he said.

Supt. Ferguson said that it is too early to determine whether other persons will also be brought before the courts in connection with this matter.

"It is too early to say. We are taking it one step at a time and once we reach those areas, we will be able to determine whether or not there are other persons involved," he said.

Read the report at BahamasLocal.com

Fifteen months after it was successful in getting the Supreme Court to appoint receivers over the Grand Bahama Port Authority and slap an injunction on Port Chairman Hannes Babak, the St. George family has made an offer to Sir Jack Hayward to bring a speedy resolution to a fractious ownership dispute.

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