When the news broke on Monday night that a plane crashed off the coast of New Providence, there was concern all around. It was unclear how many people were on the aircraft. It was unclear if there were any survivors.

Then, there was good news. Word came from rescuers that survivors were seen in the water. That was followed by word that they had been rescued. The five passengers on the single-engine Cessna were 11 minutes away from New Providence when they heard the plane's engine sputter and shut off.

Autoria Moss recounted hearing her cousin, who was piloting the aircraft, say, "We aren't going to make it." She was on the plane with her cousins Anthniqueko "Neko" Gibson, Andrew "AJ" Gibson Jr., his eight-month-old son Andre Gibson and her uncle Lorenzo "Renzi" Moss. They left Pitts Town, Crooked Island around 5 p.m. Anthniqueko Gibson was piloting the plane.

Moss said when the engine shut off, the pilot instructed his brother, Andrew Gibson, to grab the life raft at the back of the plane and warned everyone to brace for impact. Moss was clutching the baby as the plane descended into the water. What ensued was a struggle to survive. The plane went down sometime around 7 p.m. Moss said sometime around 11 p.m. the light on the life vest started to work.

"At this time the U.S. Coast Guard helicopter was a good distance off but within five minutes of getting the light on the vest to work they started coming towards us," she said.

"It had to be the light. I can't tell you the feeling when they shined their light on us. It was such a relief."

Their story of survival, well told in today's newspaper, is welcomed good news. The crime problem of New Providence rages on. Two people were murdered on Monday. The murder count is 67 for 2015, up 17.5 percent over last year. The country is on pace for a record year for killings.

Then yesterday, a shooting at a junior high school. A security guard at L. W. Young was shot multiple times while he was on duty at the Bernard Road campus by a young man wearing a C. I. Gibson Senior High School uniform. Chief Superintendent Paul Rolle said a white Honda pulled up to L. W. Young at 12:30 p.m.

"We are not sure how the driver managed to get onto the premises," he said.

"A young man exited the car dressed in a C. I. Gibson uniform. He produced a handgun and began discharging shots into the security booth where the security officer was at the time. He was struck to the chest and the leg. He then alerted persons at the rear of the school and they transported him to Princess Margaret Hospital in a private vehicle."

The 32-year-old victim was listed in critical condition at last report. The shooter fled the scene heading west. No students were harmed during the incident.

The young men caught up in the cycle of violence in our country should read the account of the plane crash in today's paper. They should see how that group fought for life. They should see how happy Moss is to still be alive. The life of violent criminality most often leads to death or jail, with young men spending their time alive in misery.

Moss said it was such a relief to be on the rescue boat. She was happy to call family to inform them that she was safe. Too many of our young men are not cherishing life. As bad as things may seem, we must continue to do more as families, a community, as government, to reach them and suggest another way. We lose too many of them each year to violence.

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian