Police today named the man who tragically lost his life in a fatal stabbing incident on Sunday (October 25).
Daunte Woods, 27, died as result of a stab wound to his chest in a fight near Somerset Cricket Club.
Police responded to the scene shortly before 2am to find the victim lying on the ground outside of Bo’s Lawn Shop around 2:20am.
He was later pronounced dead by Emergency Room doctors at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital. Another 20-year-old man was stabbed in the abdomen in that same disturbance that started inside the Somerset Cricket Club.
His death marked the sixth murder in Bermuda this year, marking the fourth fatal stabbing along with two gun murders.
Assistant Commissioner of Police Antoine Daniels pointed up what he termed the “tragic trend” of young men carrying knives for protection or as an offensive weapon.
He also stated that knives have become more popular due to the restricted access to guns in Bermuda.
To date, there have been more than 20 serious stabbing incidents on record for the year that resulted in wounding and attempted murder.
In the days ahead, he said there will be a stepped up police presence on the streets both “night and day throughout the coming days and weeks”.
He also stressed that “without information it makes it more difficult to resolve these quite serious crimes”, while he encouraged members of the public to “stand together” to help police tackle the prevalence of violent crime in Bermuda.
People should be “responsible and vigilant”, said Mr Daniels, who urged members of the community not to become desensitised to violence.
“There’s only a small minority of persons that are committing these acts – if we all stand together as a larger group I think we can remove this and prevent it from destabilising our society,” he said.
A Family Liaison Officer has been assigned to the Woods family “during this difficult time”, as police treating the death of Mr Woods as a murder investigation.
Meanwhile, the investigation continues into the shooting incident on Friday night (October 23) that left two men – both in their twenties with multiple gunshot wounds to their lower extremities.
They remain in hospital in stable condition with non-life threatening injuries.
That incident, which is thought to be gang-related, occurred on Pembroke Park Lane in Pembroke.
Mr Smith said the shooting was carried out by a lone gunman, who was riding a dark coloured motorcycle. The suspect fled east on St John’s Road towards Gorham’s.
He was said to be 5ft 8in tall, of slim to medium build, wearing a “fluorescent-type jacket”.
Anyone with information that could assist police with the ongoing murder investigation is urged to contact Detective Sergeant Dean Martin on 717-2074.
Anyone with information on the shooting incident, or who was in the St John’s Road area around 9:15pm on Friday, should contact Detective Inspector Kenzie Trott at 717-2345, or the independent confidential Crime Stoppers hotline on 800-8477.