Despite the tragic mass shooting in Nelson Street last Saturday morning, closely followed by another shooting death on Sunday, Commissioner of Police Richard Boyce is confident that crime-fighting initiatives are working.
He revealed that the swift response of officers to that fatal shooting in the wee hours of Saturday was a result of the Save Our Sons programme and increased patrols in high-crime areas, and that reaction time likely prevented further bloodshed.
“That officers were on the scene in under two minutes shows that our measures are working. Had the police not intervened as swiftly as they did, things could have spiralled out of control. Our timely presence curtailed any potential acts of revenge that could have resulted in even more fatalities,” Boyce said on Sunday morning during the first of three press conferences at police headquarters on Roebuck Street, The City, that day.
He pushed back against the perception of widespread gang wars, attributing the spate of shootings to long-standing disputes between individuals, exacerbated by easy access to firearms.
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