Three men wounded during violent weekend

(CNS): Three men suffered injuries over the weekend after being struck with machetes during a number of altercations in a violent end to the week. Two men were hospitalized with head wounds and the third man received a cut to his hand. One man has been charged and another arrested, while a third was warned for prosecution. Two other suspects involved in the violence remain at large.

“Recently we have noted an increase in the level of aggression, and the use of weapons, by members of the public when dealing with disputes with other persons,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police Kurt Walton.

“More often than not, this means that these disputes escalate quickly and result in persons receiving serious, sometimes life-threatening, injuries. The penalty for wounding or causing grievous bodily harm to another person ranges from seven years imprisonment to life. So think twice before you ruin your life or someone else’s over a dispute that could be resolved without resorting to violence.”

The violence began after a man was denied entry into a bar on Shedden Road, George Town, just east of North Sound Road, at around 8:50pm on Friday evening. Although police did not name the bar, the location given implies it was likely the Cotton Club. The man, who was said to be drunk, brandished a machete and was acting aggressively when the police were called. Officers went to the scene and searched the man’s car, where they found a machete and a package of suspected ganja.

The 31-year-old suspect from Bodden Town was then arrested, but the police said he made threats against the officers and has since been charged with threats to kill, carrying a restricted weapon, possession of ganja, consumption of ganja, and disorderly conduct. He was due in court Monday.

Then the following evening, on Saturday at about 5:45pm, officers responded to a report of a fight between two men known to each other, involving a machete, in Ella Ray Gardens, George Town. When police arrived they found a man with a large laceration to the head. Emergency services took him to hospital for treatment for what appeared to be a serious but non-life-threatening injury.

After a search of the area, they found a 27-year-old George Town man who was carrying a machete and two knives. Following a search, he was arrested and remains in custody.

Just after midnight on Sunday morning, police were again called to the Cotton Club on Shedden Road after another fight, in which one man sustained a head injury. Police were told that two other men, one armed with a machete, had approached the wounded man and another man at the bar. A fight broke out, during which the victim was injured before they left the scene. The wounded man was taken to the hospital, where the laceration to his head was treated.

The final bout of violence took place at around 3:45am Sunday at an address on Shamrock Road, where police were told that a group of people was gathered at the property when one man approached another with a machete and struck at him, causing a cut to his hand, before leaving the location. Officers later found the suspect, who was warned for intended prosecution for assault ABH.

Following the spate of violence the police reminded the public that it is an offence to carry any weapon in public, particularly at night, “without any lawful excuse”, which the person carrying the weapon must be able to prove. The fine for a conviction can be as much as $5,000 or even imprisonment for four years depending on the circumstances of the offence and offender.