American Bar Owner From South Florida Murdered in Bimini, Bahamas!

Homicide #24, Alain Perez, the owner of Bimini Big John’s in Alice Town, was shot multiple times at his Bimini Bay home early Sunday

By Steve Litz, Laura Rodriguez and Brian Hamacher

Bahamian authorities are investigating the murder of the South Florida owner of a popular Bahamas tourist bar who was gunned down at his home in Bimini over the weekend.

Alain Perez, the owner of Bimini Big John’s in Alice Town, was shot multiple times at his Bimini Bay home early Sunday, Royal Bahamas Police Superintendent Henry Rolle confirmed to NBC 6.

Perez, a 47-year-old native of Miami-Dade, has been living on the island for several years, Rolle said in a phone interview Monday.

“He’s well known in the community, well known to all the residents here, so I cannot say that we have a direct motive for anyone who would want to take his life,” Rolle said.

Rolle said officers responded to Perez’s home around 1 a.m. Sunday after they received reports of gunfire. The officers found Perez has been shot several times.

Before he died from his injuries, Perez told officers that someone had come to his door and when he answered it, the person shot him several times, Rolle said. Rolle said there were no signs of a forced entry.

“He received a frantic knocking on his door, so he imagined that it was one of his friends coming back to tell him something,” friend Juan Carrera told NBC 6.

Rolle said Perez is believed to have been at the restaurant until late Saturday night. Officers were interviewing witnesses who had been at the restaurant that night, Rolle said.

Perez’s body was brought to the coroner at New Providence, and family members were in the Bahamas to eventually bring his body back to South Florida, Rolle said.

Rolle called the killing an “isolated incident” and said a murder on the island was rare.