St Vincent Times was reliable informed that on Sunday, February 12, a group of eight visitors to Bequia, including nationals of Canada, the USA, and France, embarked on a hike to the north end of the island. Just after midday on returning towards the paved road at the quarry at Park which is less than 100 meters from a frequently used hiking trail the group heard repeated discharge of gunshot, including at least 2 bursts of semi-automatic gunfire.
The group moved to the paved road and left the area as quickly as they could out of concern that ricocheting bullets might hit them.
The members of the group were particularly frightened by the experience, as they had been informed by the Bequia Tourist Association office and other sources in Bequia that this trail was safe to hike.
On their way back to Port Elizabeth, members of the group could still hear gunfire after they had passed the turtle sanctuary at Park.
On Wednesday, February 15, a concerned citizen, having learned from the hikers about the gunfire and listened to how upset they were about the incident, visited the quarry and found numerous stacked and toppled metal barrels, some with targets attached, all with multiple bullet holes, including “through and through” bullet holes, indicating the use of a high-powered weapon and high-caliber ammunition, which would back up the visitors’ assessment that they had heard a semi-automatic weapon being discharged.
When the used bullets were gathered and counted, there were 153 spent shells and two shotgun cartridges.
On February 16th, another source told the St. Vincent Times that on hearing about the saga, they went to the site and observed that the target drums had been moved about as if someone was looking for something (shell casings); maybe, however, there were none.
The St. Vincent Times understands that the sound of repeated gunshots at the quarry in Park was reported to the Bequia Police Station on Sunday, February 12, and Monday, February 13, with an offer to accompany police officers to show them the location of the incident. However, according to the source, this offer was not taken up.
