A shooting near the capital St. Vincent and the Grenadines left four people dead and four others injured on Friday evening, prompting an intensified police response in the Caribbean island state as authorities search for those responsible.
Gunfire erupted shortly before 10:30 p.m. in the community of Green Hill, near Kingstown, according to Acting Police Commissioner Trevor Bailey, who addressed the killings at a news conference Saturday.
Officers responding to the scene found two bodies on a public road, while a woman was found dead inside a vehicle parked nearby, Bailey said.
A fourth victim was discovered on adjacent land. All four appear to have suffered gunshot wounds.
Four other people were taken to Milton Cato Memorial Hospital with gunshot wounds. Two were treated and released, while two remained hospitalized at the time of the police briefing.
Deputy Police Commissioner Brenton Smith said investigators were working to identify who was responsible and cautioned against speculation while the investigation remained active.
Police were also investigating a separate shooting at Ottley Hall early Saturday and had not determined whether the two incidents were related.
“This decision must be made by investigators based on evidence and not rumors or assumptions,” Smith said.
The killings come as authorities grapple with gun and gang violence in the small island country. Smith said 37 murders had been recorded in St. Vincent and the Grenadines so far this year.
Bailey acknowledged that police had seen instances of retaliatory violence involving rival groups, but did not link the Green Hill killings to gang activity. Asked whether criminal groups could be linked to the latest violence, police said the investigation had not reached a point to make such a determination.
Authorities said additional patrols, random searches and intelligence operations were underway in Kingstown and surrounding communities as police attempted to recover illegal firearms and prevent further violence.
Local media outlet iWitness News reported that the Green Hill attack was one of several shootings in recent years in which multiple people were killed, including a July shooting in Kingstown that left three people dead.
The outlet reported the identities of Friday’s four victims based on its own sources, although police did not officially release their names when releasing the report.
The violence occurred in a country highly touted for its isolated Caribbean setting and high-end tourism. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines consists of 32 islands and cays and is promoted by the country’s tourism authority as a destination for sailing, beaches, coral reefs and secluded getaways.
Moustique, one of its inhabited islands, is known for its private villas and famous visitors, while the archipelago as a whole is a major destination for yachts and sailing.
Police appealed to anyone with photographs, video, surveillance footage or information on people or vehicles potentially linked to the shooting to contact investigators.
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