Police have launched a search for the suspects involved in a shooting in Bellevue Estate that left one man hospitalised with a gunshot wound to the neck — the latest in a relentless string of gun attacks that has kept communities across Antigua on edge throughout the summer.
According to the Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda, officers responded to reports of gunfire in the Bellevue Estate community at about 9:30 p.m. on Monday, July 27.
The victim, Alvin Spencer, was reportedly shot in the neck shortly after arriving at his Bellevue Estate residence. He was taken to the Sir Lester Bird Medical Centre, where he underwent emergency surgery. Police said he remains in stable condition.
Ambushed at His Own Front Door
Preliminary investigations indicate that Spencer had just pulled up at his home when a suspicious vehicle stopped behind his own.
Police said a masked individual dressed in dark clothing exited the vehicle and opened fire, discharging several rounds before fleeing the area in the same vehicle.
The method of the attack — a masked gunman lying in wait, striking a victim at his own residence, and vanishing by car — bears a chilling resemblance to other recent shootings. Earlier this month, a man was shot through his vehicle window on Dickenson Bay Street by a masked assailant, and just over a week ago, a drive-by shooting on a road opposite the Potters Primary School left a 29-year-old man dead and an 18-year-old fighting for his life.
A Pattern That Keeps Repeating
Monday night's shooting in Bellevue Estate adds to a growing list of communities touched by gun violence in recent weeks. Since late June, hooded gunmen have opened fire on two teenagers near a tattoo shop on South Street; a lone gunman ambushed two teenagers on Armstrong Road, leaving a 16-year-old shot in the chest and fighting for his life; and a 66-year-old man was shot in the chest in Mount Joy.
The attacks have unfolded despite Operation Iron Grip, the police anti-crime drive launched in the first week of June with the stated purpose of disrupting criminal movement across the island. While the operation has produced real results — including chain-snatching arrests, a seized firearm, and a car chase that ended with two suspects in custody — it has not stopped the shootings.
The violence also continues to stand in uncomfortable contrast to official assurances. Prime Minister Gaston Browne told the nation earlier this month that Antigua and Barbuda remains one of the safest countries in the Caribbean, citing roughly four homicides at the mid-year mark and comparing the country favourably to its OECS neighbours. For Alvin Spencer — gunned down in his own yard and now recovering from emergency neck surgery — that reassurance will likely ring hollow.
Police Appeal for Witnesses
Investigators are now appealing to anyone who witnessed the shooting or observed any suspicious vehicles in the Bellevue Estate area around the time of the incident to come forward.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Criminal Investigations Department at 462-3913 or 462-3914, or provide information anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 800-TIPS (8477).
