In follow up to “yet another senseless murder” committed one day after the General Election, Bermuda Real can report that the second gun murder victim this year, was gunned down in the same house where another gun murder was killed in the same house in October last year.

Police confirmed that 20-year-old Jahcari Francis was fatally shot at an Upland Street residence in Devonshire around 10:45pm Wednesday, July 19th and later pronounced dead at the scene by an on call physician.

What they have yet to reveal is that another young Black male was shot and killed at that same residence. On October 20th last year, 19-year-old Isaiah Furbert was shot dead in the same house Jahcari Francis lost his life in. Furbert was gunned down through a window at his home on Upland Street at 10pm. He was pronounced dead 24 minutes later at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.

Fast forward to the day after the General Election when police and first responders found another young Black male shot dead at the same residence. They have already stated that the detectives investigating this latest fatal shooting believe it has all “the hallmarks of a gang related murder”, which is the second gun murder in Bermuda this year.

While they “pursue all lines of enquiry to determine the circumstances that led to this callous act”, with a public appeal for assistance, take not of the fact that the Bermuda Police Service has yet to produce results on the other murder committed at the same residence last year. And they have yet to confirm that there are now two murder investigations stemming from this house in Devonshire.

When Isaiah Furbert was gunned down in October last year, he was the youngest gun murder victim since Jason Lightbourne, who was killed while sitting in a car on Ord Road in Paget in July 2006. His death marked the 31st gun murder in Bermuda since this ongoing slaughter of young Black males began to spiral in May 2009. Furbert’s death marked the fourth gun murder in 2016, following the murder of Patrick Dill, Fiqre Crockwell and Jason Mello last year.

Sadly, the death toll continues to take a heavy toll on the Black community and the general community at large, while the number of unsolved murder cases continues to rise as well.

Stopping young Black males hell-bent on killing each other is clearly an uphill battle and struggle. How exactly do you stop this madness? It’s not shocking anymore, and it could be that as a people we have become desensitized, which by its very definition means that as a community we have become insensitive or non-reactive to a sensitizing agent.

As a community, have we become emotionally insensitive or callous to this madness? Has our emotional response in the form of fear, anxiety or guilt been extinguished? Could it be that because it’s only young Black males killing each other that we as a community, Black, White or Others just don’t care anymore or before?

Whatever it is, at some point we must get down to the core issues, face them head on, and find REAL SOLUTIONS! One thing’s for sure, it’s going to take MORE than TALK, band-aid programmes, and catchy slogans like ‘if you know something say something’ with no REAL ACTION!

Guns are not manufactured in Bermuda! They are imported either by air or by sea! When was the last time the police found one? Whenever it was why was it only one, just how many have they found in say the last 12-month period?

When is the last time you heard of any guns OR  illegal drugs for that matter, being intercepted at the Hamilton docks? What’s up with that multi-million dollar scanner to scan all the containers imported weekly into Bermuda? Is it even working? And if not, why not? What’s the plan for it?

And no it’s not all up to the police and customs officers, the government or any one particular segment or members of this community! At the end of the day US is WE collectively, and clearly WE ARE FAILING!

One thing has changed since Furbert and Francis were gunned down in the same house and that’s the government administration. When Furbert was killed Jeff Baron was the Minister of National Security. Francis was murder the day after the Progressive Labour Party won the election. Now Wayne Caines is the new Minister of National Security.

The new PLP administration has vowed to make gang and gun violence a top priority. How they will tackle this ongoing madness – time will tell. Meanwhile, the devastating impact of young Black males hell-bent on killing each other continues. Bermuda is too small for this errant nonsense. And the impact of the constantly rising death toll in not sustainable in a country where Bermudians already have a low birthrate.

Government administrations and their Cabinet Ministers may come and go. What hasn’t gone away is the constant plague of gun violence in Bermuda as the senseless murders continue. Ultimately, when you get right down to it, like the song says over and over again: “Nothing comes from TALK but SOUND and the world keeps going round and round!” Where it stops, apparently NOBODY KNOWS!

Ask yourself is that good enough and whether you’ve had enough of it YET? One thing’s for sure – as a community “we cannot fix what we do not face”. And it’s way past time for a major dose of MIRROR THERAPY!