Orient Beach: ----- A former employee and owner of a small boat is now nursing gunshot wounds. The victim has been identified as Fabrice a French national who was shot while on a motor bike that was being ridden by one of his friends.
According to eyewitnesses, the man was walking towards Club Orient with his girlfriend when another man identified as Philippe picked him up on his motor bike leaving the girlfriend on the roadside. The eyewitnesses said shortly after four men all on scooters began following the motorbike that picked up Fabrice. They said at the entrance of Club Orient a fight broke out, and the security guard that was working tried to intervene, but when his efforts were not sufficient he decided to call the gendarmes. “It was during this time one of the four attackers shot Fabrice. But what is strange about all of this is when Fabrice girlfriend saw the four scooters approaching her boyfriend and Philippe she took off running towards the pond.” One eyewitness said it seems as though the girlfriend knows the attackers. The victim also has a green boat that is currently docked on Orient Beach.
In an invited comment, Managing Director of Club Orient Stephen Paynes said that crime is all over the world and it happens frequently in tourist areas.
Paynes said there are cameras all over Club Orient and the shooting is on tape. He said he already turned over the DVR hard-drive to the investigators. Paynes said he is not sure if there were two or three shots that were fired but the victim he said was hurt somewhere in the chest area. He said when he saw the victim on the ground he took a towel from the resort and begin to apply pressure until the ambulance arrived on the scene. “It was clear that the victim was in pain but it appeared as if his injuries are not fatal.” Paynes said the bullet looks like a 9mm but he is not an expert on guns and bullets.
Paynes said it appeared as though the attackers were going after the motor bike but he is not sure what could have caused the broad daylight shooting. Paynes also confirmed that the victim worked at Club Orient years ago and he owns a boat. The victim he said speaks Spanish fluently.
Violence and Crime is a fact of Life—says Paynes.
Paynes said violence and crime is a fact of life and it happens everywhere especially in tourist destinations but when incidents such as these take place the economy is affected. “The hotel is 70% full and we are up 10% from last year and I am sure this would affect our business.” The businessman said he worked in several countries for example Indonesia and crime is far worst there. Paynes recounted an incident that took place in Tacoma where four policemen were shot on Sunday. While none of this is an excuse for crime, he said people have to know that crime happens everywhere and St. Martin is no exception. He said crime is definitely affecting the economy but felt that there needs to be more community policing if St. Martin is to be more effective in handling crime.
Police he said has to be an integral part of the community if they are to fight and reduce crime. The businessman felt there is need to have police (Gendarmes) stay longer on St. Martin so they can get to know the people here. He further explained that when a community is small the pain of crime is more severe. This is said would definitely affect the tourism trade and more has to be done to protect it. Paynes said he had a cocktail party scheduled to take place at 5pm on Monday for his guest but due to the shooting, his guests could not even check in on time.
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