Paul’s Avenue resident points fingers at ‘outsiders’

A resident who has lived in the Paul’s Avenue area all his life says police can stop the shootings there if they remove persons who go into the community just to sell illegal drugs.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the resident told SEARCHLIGHT that he feels the issue with Paul’s Avenue now is no longer with residents, but outsiders who frequent the area, some under pretence of running legitimate businesses.

The resident said that brothers, Lamont “Dutchie” Hector and Jawanza “Sanga” Fraser, fingered for dealing in drugs, were bona fide residents of the area and were well liked by people who live there and grew up with them despite what others may think.

Hector of Paul’s Avenue was one of five persons killed in a drive-by shooting on Wednesday, July 19, 2023, in the Harbour Club area.

Fraser was shot and killed on Friday September 13, 2024. The 45-year-old was shot multiple times by a gunman said to be wearing a wig and sunglasses as disguise.

“…but now they are gone, people are talking bout the guys that now come in there and sell crack and sell weed and not from there. Dem man dey making gunman come in here … because people see it as them selling drugs and buying gun and bullet to kill men from other area.”

The unidentified man blamed these outsiders with the practise of blocking the roads at night.

“People drive in here and have to turn back, get frighten when they see things block the road,” the resident said.

On Wednesday, December 11, 2024, police moved into the area and removed objects used to block the public road. In the process they became engaged in a heated exchange with a group of men who were objecting to the police action.

One officer discharged his firearm during the incident which was recorded and placed on social media.

“This nah fair, dem not even from in here and making problems for we,” the resident said.

Speaking on Hot 97.1 FM’s AM Mayhem morning show on December 12, 2024, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) with responsibility for fighting crime in SVG Trevor “Buju” Bailey warned that the practice of blocking the road is illegal, and people can be prosecuted if caught. He also noted emphatically, that no community in St Vincent and the Grenadines will be allowed to be off-limits due to such activities.

Over the past several years, Paul’s Avenue has become known for mass shootings which have resulted in deaths.

The most recent such shooting which claimed the lives of three men occurred on Saturday, November 30, 2024, sometime after 4:00 a.m.

The resident said it is rumoured that on the morning of this mass shooting, the target was an outsider who had already left the area and the three men shot were a casualty in a war in which they were not involved.

Following another shooting on Friday, July 19, 2024, a call was made for the police to restore a 24-hour presence in the Central Kingstown community.

Paul’s Avenue was one of the communities the police identified as being crime hot spots, and installed a 24 hour presence there, however, this was later discontinued.

ACP Bailey told radio listeners on December 12, that there are a lot of people in Paul’s Avenue who would like to have the 24 hour police presence, but there are those who do not want this.

“…they are engaged in some sort of criminal activity one way or the other and would not appreciate the presence of the police, and you would see scenes like you have there last night (when the police unblocked the public road), because they are of the opinion that the police preventing us from doing what we want to do.”

ACP Bailey added that the criminal elements who do not want the police in Paul’s Avenue are not truly representative of the community, as the vast number of residents wish the police are there 24 hours a day.

“I think if the police remove these outsiders, we still will have drug selling but not as much, and gunmen won’t have no reason to come in here for them,” said the resident, who noted that some legal shop operators in the area are hesitant to remain open after dark.