KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent – Member of Parliament for East Kingstown Opposition Leader Arnhim Eustace says he is concerned about violence in Walvaroo after two men were shot there last Tuesday night.
Police say that Dwight Pierre, 27, and Curtis Phillips, 34, both labourers from the East Kingstown community, sustained gunshot wounds to their heads during the incident
Police responded to a shooting incident in the area and found both men lying on the ground with the gunshot wounds.
Eustace said he visited the area on Wednesday morning.
“And I am saying something today as representative of East Kingstown. I am very disturbed by what I see is the growing sense of gang warfare in Walvaroo. As I walked around and spoke with residents there that day, a lot of people expressed to me … their concerns about the state of affairs,” said Eustace, who has been representing the constituency since 1998.
He said that residents spoke of pellets falling on their rooftops and, in one case, one going through a window.
There have been other shootings in the area, and residents “expressed this unease that they feel,” Eustace said.
“I spoke to a lot of people. Some were our supporters; some were ULP (Unity Labour Party) supporters. They all had one common theme and that theme was they are worried about this outbreak of violence that is taking place in Walvaroo and something has to be done about it,” the New Democratic Party president said.
“… It is really tragic to see the number of young persons, not only in Walvaroo but in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, who have been wounded by the gun in the last few years,” he said.
“And I find that in my constituency, in Walvaroo, that is taking on proportions that are way above normal for such a small area of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and I look forward to having further discussions on this matter very shortly because something has got to be done about it.”
Eustace said the situation should not be encouraged. “… we all take whatever steps we think are necessary to cool the temperature down in that area of that constituency. The more you think about it, it is really a very difficult situation and I intend to play my part in seeing what I can do to deal with that situation.”
He said he spoke with a group of mostly young ladies and many of them were concerned that one of the young men shot was “a quiet, law-abiding” citizen.
“And they were quite upset about the shooting. And I found that across party lines,” Eustace said, adding that while the women were sympathetic, they were also concerned about what had happened and wanted to see peace return to their community.