<<< Police in standoff outside Hallmark Bank in Providenciales early Saturday morning following a foiled bank robbery.
Nassau, Bahamas — Sources in the TCI today told us a standoff in Providenciales lasted for seven hours as four gunmen entered and tried rob the Hallmark Trust Bank on Leeward Highway early Saturday morning.
Around 4am the robbers entered the bank, which triggered an alarm and alerted police to swiftly race to the scene and secure the bank’s property, trapping the robbers inside. Bahamas Press has learned one of the four burglars now in police custody is Bahamian born.
Another robber arrested in the foiled robbery is a son of well–known island chef, Ricky Clarke, owner of the Flamingo Restaurant in Grand Turk. Clarke was allowed by police to enter the bank in an effort to convince his son along with the robbers to surrender to police. Clarke’s efforts were successful and shortly after around 11am the burglars exited the bank with their hands in the air.
Crime has doubled in the Turks and Caicos Islands over the last 12-month police in the TCI now tell us; with gun crimes and burglaries rocking the island. A police report was delivered to the Governor and his advisory board last week detailing the situation; one which is now getting worse by the day.
According to the report, criminals tend to be aged 30 and above and local rather than foreign.
Of the 499 people charged with an offense this year, 350 where local adult males while 96 were foreign adult males. Local adult females accounted for 29 incidents and juveniles just four.
A local paper called the Turks & Caicos Sun has decided to quote the comments of a contributor on this site to make a point that Bahamians have taken jobs from Turks Islanders and that Bahamians who are descendants of TI’s have used this to benefit from TCI when they did not want anything to do with TCI. I will post this story as soon as the Sun website has put it up. The owner of the paper is Barbadian (Hayden Boyce) and is married to a TCI former minister.
@Kim Sands Like some of you demanding Bahamian women always do, is tell people what to do, you also said that it was tedious on you, I never told you to stop or ask you if you are being paid, but to answer your question, I am being paid, if I can enlighten you or you could enlighten myself, that would be payment enough for me, and I love working hard, but if someone is not getting that is the tedious part, no need you response to this, I think we have ran our course, see you on another road.
@Awakened
If it is becoming tedious, why bother? It is not as if you are getting paid for this or are you? Please don’t bother to reply, because I don’t want you working too hard, ok.
@Kim Sands But Kim, this won’t be long, and this is becoming tedious, the person that tried to rob the bank in TCI was a Bahamian right?, again, not everyone is a criminal, but there are some who are, those are the weak minds, but there are other problems in our nation , like stealing from the government, stealing from your private sector that’s a crime, not looking out for the less fortunate, injustice on the innocent and many more negative things, yes you don’t rob, but someone does, like you said some things aren’t worth going into, my mother told me long ago, when you don’t listen, you feel!!!.
@Awakened
Just for the record, my first comment on this thread was not geared towards you in anyway, that was intended for NCL, but I forgot to address my comment to that person, so when you started your insults towards me, you caught me totally off guard. Never the less, I agree with some things you said about the country taking on the spirit of it’s leader to a certain extent, except the last time I checked Turks and Caicos was running their own affairs and didn’t fall under our government, unless they returned and I wasn’t aware. Another thing even though I have a problem with our prime minister attitude, I don’t go around engaging in criminal activities and I know plenty people who don’t. I am not one to be on here defending Hubert, it just that I feel people need to start holding these perpetrators accountable for their own actions and stop casting blame on other people and I am serious with that.
Get it right Bahama press, it is Bahamian Born Turks Islander.
Persons whose parents were born in the TCI can have their passport ‘stamped’ granting them legal status in the country. It is having dual citizenship.
Both of my parents were born in the TCI, migrated to Abaco. I grew up in Nassau and have since returned to the TCI for economic reasons and career advancements.
Many Belongers feel threatened by Bahamian born Turks & Caicos Islanders because we tend to be better educated and more experienced.. They think we are here to ‘steal their jobs’. To the contrary, we can assist them in nation building as our parents did in the hay days of the 60’s & 70’s.
I would like to encourage more Belongers living in the Bahamas to venture out and come back home. There are good paying jobs here and once you can block all of the haters, you can achieve much both financially and career wise.
We need people like Maurice Glinton & Janet Bostwick, the Ingrhams, the Halls, the Williams, the Seymours, the Misicks, the Handfields, the Morleys, the Wilsons, the Lewis, the Grays, the Edgecomes, the Gardiners, the Harveys, the Ellis’, the Smiths, the Fulfords, the Penns, the Garlands, the Astwoods, the Grants, the Outtens,the Swanns, the Brooks, the Forbes, the Taylors, the Dickersons, the Lightbournes, the Rigbys, the Ewings, Mcartneys, the Lowes, the Adams, et all with TCI roots to come home and help us get this country back on the right footing.
The recent commission of inquiry (2009) is proof enough that we are in dire need of help.
@N C L Smith
My thoughts exactly, only I thought they would blame Tommy!! LOL!
@Kim Sands Kim I never said anything about putting the whole blame on HAI, and I never brought up Tommy’s name, don’t take it so literal, like I said, when leaders put their personalities out there the country take it on, most Bahamians look at HAI like a big bad no nonsense, bad attitude, vindictive, petty, that kind of stuff turn teenagers on, again look around you, America took on the attitude of George Bush & the GOP, during his term, everything was war mongering, now Bahamians are in other countries stealing, followers aren’t that bright you know, they are sheep looking for a Shepherd to follow, Sir Lynden made us feel proud of being Bahamians, made us want to reach for something more, anywhere we would travel in the world, there was Bahamian pride instilled in us, we were second to no one, and not trying to rob banks in other countries, are you getting me, these guys are hopeless as leaders, and can’t wipe Sir Lynden’s boots, real leaders inspire it’s people. that is why I blame them.
@Awakened
LOL!! I agree with you to a certain point, but I think you are stretching it a bit. You can’t place this completely on Hubert’s shoulders, you don’t see him robbing places, do you?. I have to make a run, I will read your response when I return.
@Kim Sands Do you understand that these guys are our countrymen who tried to rob this bank, Kim if your not insightful enough to see what I see, don’t ask to keep things in your perspective, I know what see happening, unless you are all knowing, I still say that a country takes on the personality of it’s leader, this ia simple to prove, just look out around you, things are more spiritual than you think, a bossy leader, no respect for your citizens, what do you expect from the younger ones, who watch these guys bullying their peers, an all for me baby society, a materialistic society and you still don’t see it, I’m trying to make this as simple as possible, please try to take this in, because where there is no vision(amongst other things), the people will perish, (amongst other things)….and yes I am serious!!!!.
You can’t be serious, I don’t think it is fair to blame this on Hubert or Tommy for that matter? As far as I know they weren’t even there. You have to blame this on Paul Gardiner and his coconspirators they are the ones tried to rob that bank and landed themselve in hot water. If you really want us to blame Hubert and Tommy for something, we could start by blaming them for their lack of actions towards fighting crimes, other than that let’s try to keep things in perspective.
@N C L Smith My boy or my girl, that is a Bahamian being exported, who do you blame, the governor of TCI?, my boy so goes the leader, so goes the country, leader has no class and is biggity this is what you get, we are now exporting crime.
So I guess we can blame Hubert for the high increase in crime here as well….
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