"This Cannot Be Normal": Adrian Williams Voices a Nation's Anger and Fear, Warning Crime is "Seriously Getting Out of Hand"

Observer Radio talk-show host Adrian Williams, the UPP candidate for St. John's City South in the April general election, says the fatal shooting of a pregnant young mother inside her own Bathlodge home has left the country angry, frightened and demanding answers — and he is warning that the moment calls for outcomes, not outrage, as gun violence tightens its grip on communities across Antigua and Barbuda.

Williams was speaking on Tuesday's edition of the Voice of the People, hours after 20-year-old Saquania Anthony — a mother of two who was pregnant with her third child — was shot dead when three masked gunmen forced their way into a Bathlodge home around 11:30 p.m. on Monday and opened fire. A 13-year-old boy was critically injured in the attack, and a 24-year-old man was also shot.

'That's Our Safe Space'

The host told listeners that what set this attack apart was where it happened. "They didn't just enter; they entered, they opened fire," he said of the gunmen. "Gunmen entered her home — not somebody walking through a dark alleyway… Many of us, we're in our home; that's our safe space. That's where we feel safe. And when gunmen enter, we feel invaded."

"A pregnant woman is now dead. A 13-year-old critically wounded, and another man injured. This cannot be normal. This cannot be normal," Williams declared. "I'm angry. I'm disappointed. Many of you are angry. Many of you are afraid. I know. Parents worried. People are asking questions: What is happening in Antigua? "

'Does My Outrage Become Outcome?'

But Williams told his audience he would not spend the morning venting: "I refuse to spend an hour shouting on this, because after I finish shouting, what changes? Nothing changes. Does my outrage become outcome? No," he said.

Instead, the broadcaster threw open the phone lines — "Give us a call. Let me know. We have to do better than this" — inviting the public to weigh in with "Maybe I'm wrong." Callers matched his alarm: one urged the authorities to recall officers on leave and "comb the whole island" until the gunmen are found, while another caller renewed a long-standing appeal for surveillance cameras to be mounted on streetlights across ordinary communities — not concentrated, as he put it, on "upscale" areas and businesses — stressing that "this is not a partisan issue."

For Williams, the stakes could not be plainer: "Crime right now in Antigua and Barbuda is seriously getting out of hand," he warned. "And what are we going to do about it?"

'The Public Wants Answers'

The UPP general election candidate did find one early reason for encouragement — the speed of the police response. "I am really elated in terms of learning how early two persons were held for questioning as it pertains to this particular shooting," he said. "I know the public has been upset. I know the public are concerned, and the public wants answers."

Determined to get those answers on the record, Williams brought Commissioner of Police Everton Jeffers on air for an extended interview, pressing the top cop on the investigation, the pattern of illegal firearms entering the country, whether ballistic tracing is being used to follow the guns to their source, and what confidential channels exist for citizens to report weapons anonymously. The Commissioner's full responses are reported by this newsroom separately.

Repeat Offenders and 'Very Young Persons'

Williams also used the platform to spotlight two trends he believes are fuelling the crisis. "We have a serious issue in Antigua with repeat violent offenders," he told the Commissioner directly, asking where the system most needs strengthening — investigation, prosecution, or rehabilitation — and how frustrating the revolving door has become for the men and women on the front line.

Equally troubling, he said, is the age of those pulling triggers. "We have seen certainly a surge in these crimes, and what is frightening is that there are young people that are involved — very young persons now," Williams observed, adding that parents "also play a crucial part in this."

'It Is Better to Come Forward'

The UPP general election candidate reserved a pointed message for anyone shielding fugitives from justice, backing the police appeal for a suspect still wanted in connection with a murder in Freemans Village. "The law is very clear as it relates to aiding and abetting a criminal," Williams cautioned, pointing to a recent case in which "a young lady from Antigua was brought over to Dominica and is now facing the full weight of the law."

"If they are harbouring him or they have any knowledge of where he is, it is better to come forward," he said of the wanted man's relatives. "It is better that he faces the consequence of his actions than drag you, the parents, down — and additional family members and potential friends who may have knowledge of his whereabouts — into this matter."

'It Takes a Collective Effort'

Even while promising to keep asking hard questions, Williams closed the segment by rallying the nation behind law enforcement. "I know policing is difficult," he said. "Sometimes terrible things happen, and naturally, when it happens, the police receive an enormous amount of pressure. On this programme we ask the hard questions, but also we want your officers to succeed — because when they succeed in lawfully taking guns and violent offenders off the street, Antigua and Barbuda succeeds. It takes a collective effort."

To the rank and file of the police force, he offered thanks: "Thank you for doing the hard work. Thank you for doing the heavy lifting. I want to encourage you to continue. Do not be disheartened."

And to the public, a final charge: "Let us all rally and join behind the police force, because, yes, the police aren't perfect, but they are trying. Let us rally behind them."

Information on the Bathlodge shooting can be shared with the Criminal Investigations Department at 462-3913/462-3914, or anonymously via Crime Stoppers at 800-TIPS (8477).