Prime Minister Perry Christie yesterday admitted that the government has a "lot of work to do" to reduce crime in the country and said his administration will go "back to the drawing board" with its plan to fight crime.
He also suggested that Bahamians should be concerned that the carnage is not limited to retaliatory killings among gangs.
"For us now, it is going back to the drawing board, reviewing where we are, testing to see whether what we are doing is having any kind of impact and what other strategies we can employ," Christie said outside the House of Assembly.
"Unless we are able to come to grips with what is happening at the level of the streets, we have a real problem in this country that goes to the root of how we react one to the other.
"It's easy to believe that it is localized and it is retaliatory, where you shoot me and I shoot you, and we are all in one group.
"When you see it now begin to stretch and extend itself to people who you least expect to be involved in any kind of underhand activity, who may have just been a victim of circumstance, then you know we have a lot of work to do."
Five people were killed between Saturday night and Monday morning.
A group of men in a silver Honda Accord went on a killing spree that started late Saturday night, according to police, who believe the assailants took the lives of three men in separate incidents on New Providence over the weekend.
On Sunday night, in a separate incident, another man was shot in Nassau Village around 8:45 p.m. and died in hospital.
Early yesterday morning, Bahamas Information Services Deputy Director Latore Mackey, the press secretary to the prime minister, was shot dead on Market Street.
He was found slumped over in the driver's seat of his government-issued vehicle around 4:30 a.m., according to police.
The latest killing pushed the country's murder count to 82.
Christie said the recent spate of murders is another example that crime has peaked in the country.
He returned to The Bahamas on Sunday after attending the opening of the SLS Las Vegas boutique hotel and casino.
"When I arrived back in The Bahamas yesterday (Sunday), as is usual, the commissioner of police met with me, and as is usual, I would have asked what has happened in the commonwealth," Christie said.
"And he indicated to me [that it was] a very heavy weekend, meaning that there were shootings and killings, and that in and of itself distressed me."
Christie's pointed that Bahamians should be concerned that crime is impacting everyone, was echoed by Deputy Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis last year after one of his police aides was shot in eastern New Providence.
Following the incident, Davis said, "No one is safe from crime."
In December, Davis, then acting prime minister, and his wife became the victims of a home invasion and armed robbery.
He did not have a security detail.
However, Davis appeared to downplay the security breach and said The Bahamas is not as dangerous as it is made out to be.
That month, a mass shooting near the Fox Hill Park left four people dead and seven others injured.
In the aftermath of that incident, the government launched more than 20 crime strategies, which the opposition criticized as "more of the same".
These included plans to increase saturation patrols, patrols in crime hot spots, and the reinstatement of the 12-hour shift for police officers.
The prime minister said he intends to meet with law enforcement officials over the next few days.
He said those meetings may lead to the government developing other crime strategies.
"We cannot compromise on the safety and security of our citizens," Christie said.
"We cannot have a situation develop where people are fearful to be out.
"Last night (Sunday), I saw the body of a victim, who was shot by high-powered machine guns.
"And to see the carnage, it brings home again the reality that we have to do more."
Christie admitted that clamping down on crime has been a large task for the government.
"At the end of the day, to each of you, I should say that it has to be of paramount concern to each of us as Bahamians."

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