Residents of West Bay have reacted with anger at the murder of Andrew Baptist – the second fatal shooting in as many days.

Henry Ormond Morgan – lifelong resident of the district and chairman of the West Bay Action committee said he has tried to speak to the RCIPS about the problems.

But he added: “We have spoken to the police and it has fallen on deaf ears.

“What you see now… remember the Oklahoma City bombing and Timothy McVeigh? The bomb was made of fertiliser and cow dung. Well, the police and other authorities are feeding that to us in small doses right now.“

Alice Mae Coe, head of the Concerned Citizens Group, said: “You can’t go out alone. It is shocking what is happening in our country.

“None of us would ever have believed this is Cayman. It’s totally opposite to what it used to be.

“It’s the mad rush to develop, develop, develop, yet the basic fabric of our society is being torn apart. We are obviously not doing something right.

“The old Cayman way was to put God first in our lives and the country was very different.  You have to have strong families and the strength of the country is based on God-fearing people, but, like the rest of the world, we all have become materialistic, laying up our treasures on earth.

“There is a lot of frustration. We have people suffering and without jobs, and not caring. We have always had poor people, but back then people cared and they shared what they had, but we have become so materialistic.”

Speaking of the crime wave, Ms Coe said: “I don’t like it when people say it’s w there are no jobs. It is better to beg, to go down the street and ask people to give you something to eat.

“We have to create opportunities and find a new perspective. If I had a magic solution, I’d shout it from
the rooftops.

“We are saddened at the loss of life. Each life is precious, and I think about the potential of our people. Who knows what they could have become? We have got to get back on the right path”.