A sailor from Chicago was shot dead over the weekend in Nassau. Kyle Bruner, 34, a former special education teacher, was apparently trying to help a woman being mugged by two armed men overnight Saturday when he was shot in the neck. Police Superintendent Paul Rolle said the man, who was apparently working on a sailboat passing through Nassau, was shot around 4:30am. He said one person was in custody and detectives were searching for two others. Police had not disclosed the man’s identity last night.
But sailboat captain Chris Shaw identified him as Kyle Bruner, and his parents confirmed that they had received news of his death from the US Embassy in Nassau. Bruner was a mate on Shaw’s boat, the Liberty Clipper. Police say the victim was walking north on Mackey Street approaching East Bay Street with another man and two women, when they were approached by two men dressed in dark clothing, demanding cash.
One of the men was armed with a handgun. Rolle said the man was shot when he apparently tried to stop them from stealing one of the women’s jewellery. He apparently got into a row with one of the suspects and was shot in the neck. The suspects fled on foot in the area of Okra Hill. The victim was taken to hospital by ambulance where he later died of his injuries. At his parents’ Northwest Side home in Chicago last night, Rick and Ginny Bruner were finishing a sombre Mother’s Day dinner. “I think about it, and then I start crying,” his mother said. “Then I get busy and do something else, and something else sparks a memory and I start crying again.”
They said their son, who was born in Maryland and attended high school and college in Indiana, discovered his love of tall ships several years ago while living in California. In recent years, he had considered Chicago his home base. Bruner had worked across the continent and had been living aboard the ship in Nassau while it prepared for its summer trip to its home port in Boston. He was due to leave the Bahamas next week, his dad said. He was planning to join another crew for the summer, a tour that would have included a stop in Chicago.
Kyle Bruner was a smart man with varied passions, his father said. During high school, he would play the first half with the football team, change into a drum major’s uniform, conduct the marching band and be back in pads for the second half. A former artilleryman in the Indiana Army National Guard, Bruner loved helping others his father said. “Maybe we wish he had walked away from” the mugging, his father said. “But if he had, he wouldn’t have been the person we know.” In February, US State Department officials again warned American visitors to avoid “Over The Hill” areas after dark in its annual crime and safety report.
This year’s report did not include criminal threat ratings for New Providence or Grand Bahama; however, the country was said to have a “moderate” threat of trans-national terrorism due to “porous borders”. Officials also underscored concerns for residential security, minimal enforcement of traffic laws, and an “upsurge” in criminal activity that could put innocent bystanders at risk. The report said: “Much of the violent crime on New Providence Island happens in non-tourist areas referred to locally as ‘Over the Hill.’ These areas are generally south of the downtown Nassau area south of Shirley Street. “These areas are not clearly defined but encompass the lower income areas on New Providence.
Visitors should avoid these areas, especially at night.” Last month, Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe said cruise officials were telling passengers not to go out in Nassau, or only go to Senor Frogs, which is very close to the cruise docks. Wilchcombe said it was imperative that the Ministry of Tourism, together with the police, ensure the safety of visitors. He also stressed the need for authorities to get a handle on crime in the country. The US Embassy said it would “get back to the Tribune as soon as it received an official statement.” Anyone with information on the murder is asked to contact police at 911 or 919, the Central Detective Unit at 502-9991 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 328-TIPS.
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