New Providence police were on Thursday called to the scene of two apparently unrelated homicides, the most recent involving the shooting death of a young man in front of a popular laundromat on Carmichael Road.
The second killing happened earlier in the day on Graham Drive in Yellow Elder Gardens where police say Omelio Griffith, 21, a resident of that area, was stabbed multiple times and pronounced dead a short while later in hospital.
In the afternoon, Eric McGregor Jr., 24, was reportedly shot twice in the chest in plain view of his younger sister, as they were about to enter the establishment to wash clothes.
According to his father, Eric Sr., it is believed that his son was shot by the driver of a Chevy Suburban which had pulled up in front of the Pond Wash Laundromat on Carmichael Road, near Bacardi Road, around 3pm.
Mr. McGregor, who said he was home getting ready for work at the time of the shooting, told the Bahama Journal that his son knew the man who shot him.
He claimed the alleged shooter was building an apartment complex in the area and had accused young men of stealing building supplies, but police did not confirm this.
At the scene of the crime, Eric Jr.ﾒs 13-year-old sister and other relatives were notably distraught.
Mr. McGregor said the murder of his son was especially difficult because the family has had to deal with a string of deaths in recent times. Mr. McGregor said his father died last year; his mother died earlier this year, and his wifeﾒs parents also died this year.
It means that his sonﾒs death is the fifth in the family in approximately a year. Eric Jr., according to his father, was an auto mechanic and the father of a baby girl.
“I guess the Lord [is] giving me this,” he said. “I have to say a prayer for right nowﾅThis is kind of hard, but I guess when you think about it there are still some of us left. I guess I have to be strong and carry on with the family.”
Mr. McGregor said his son was a loving father and was well respected in the Bacardi Road area where some people saw him as a role model.
On the scene of the shooting, Chief Superintendent Marvin Dames said police were “extremely concerned” about the latest homicides.
“Already, with respect to the [stabbing] we have someone in custody who is currently assisting us with our investigations,” said Mr. Dames, who spoke to the Bahama Journal around 4pm.
“And as far as [the shooting] is concerned, already we have officers in the field in search of the suspect in connection with this particular matter, so we currently have ongoing, active investigations in connection with both, with a view to closing both matters in the quickest possible time.”
He said one of the stabbing victimﾒs family members was “assisting” police in their investigations.
According to police, the countryﾒs homicide count for 2006 stands at 21.
By: Stephen Gay, The Bahama Journal
