Two men on bail in relation to murder were shot dead around the same time in separate incidents in New Providence yesterday afternoon, police said.

Both men were being electronically monitored and were "known to police for a number of serious offenses".

The incidents were the latest in what has been a particularly bloody period of just over a week in which 10 people were murdered and others shot and injured.

The latest murders came one day after Commissioner of Police Clayton Fernander again spoke about what he termed the vexing issue of individuals on bail for murder committing more crimes or themselves becoming victims of murder.

Police said that around 2:30 p.m., they were alerted via ShotSpotter technology to a shooting in the area of Minnie Street, off Wulff Road.

When they arrived, they discovered a male lying in the street with multiple gunshot wounds. Relatives at the scene identified him as Romero Rolle.

According to reports received by police, Rolle was driving north on Minnie Street when a small white van pulled across his vehicle.

Moments later, a male with a handgun exited the van and started firing at Rolle, who tried to run.

According to reports, the shooter pushed him and shot him about the body before fleeing the scene in an unknown direction.

In the second incident, police also said they were alerted to that shooting via ShotSpotter technology.

Preliminary reports revealed that the victim was a passenger in a white Japanese vehicle being driven by a male friend.

While they were in the area of Bahamas Boulevard, Flamingo Gardens, occupants of a silver Japanese vehicle opened fire on them.

The driver and the victim successfully evaded the assailants, however, the driver lost control in the area of Montgomery Avenue, police said.

He left the vehicle and fled on foot, leaving the passenger behind, police added. Not long after, emergency medical services personnel pronounced the passenger dead.

The victim was not identified. Police said a male was "assisting" them in their investigations.

The latest murders pushed to 43 the count for the year.

On Monday, Fernander reported that 10 of the suspects in the 41 murders that had occurred up to that point were out on bail after being charged with other murders and 11 of the victims who were murdered were also on bail, including eight who were being electronically monitored.

He also reported that of the 41 cases, 24 suspects and 23 victims had "prior contact" with police.

Of the 43 to date, 40 of the murders occurred on New Providence, two on Abaco and one on Eleuthera.

Between April 14 and yesterday, there were 10 murders recorded in The Bahamas - nine on New Providence.

"We know that the players, they continue to reoffend," said Fernander at a press conference at Police Headquarters on East Street on Monday.

"There is a revolving door for persons who commit crimes and are arrested, charged and placed before the courts only to be released on bail. In some instances, the punishment does not fit the crime.

"We will continue to do our part to disrupt the sale of drugs in the community, [implement] aggressive stop and search operations to undercover contraband and illegal firearms, target prolific offenders and track down wanted suspects."

Despite the recent murder spree, Fernander reported that serious crimes for the year decreased by 28 percent across the country up to April 23, compared to the same time in 2022.

Murders up to that point were down 16 percent.

Last Thursday, Minister of National Security Wayne Munroe said bail has become a death sentence in The Bahamas.

"This issue of people getting bail for murder in The Bahamas, that's a death sentence is what we will say from the police and the state side because 60 percent of the people murdered last year were on bail for murder, so there's a provision in the Bail Act where you can be remanded for your own safety," Munroe said.

"If an individual says, 'I'm prepared to be responsible for my own safety,' it behooves a judge to say, 'I'm going to care for your life more than you do,' but the point that we're seeking to have a decision [on] is, 'fine, you're prepared to be killed while on bail, but when the people are coming to kill you, you're not by yourself, you're in the company of other people, you're around other people and our experience has shown you have what people would call collateral damage.'"

Munroe said the public safety issue is a "powerful" reason to remand somebody.

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian