Barbuda senator recounts gunpoint robbery during trip to Antigua

Barbuda Council Sen. Fabian Jones says he was confronted by a gunman, struggled to keep hold of his belongings and heard two shots fired during a robbery while travelling to Antigua last year.

Jones said the attack happened shortly after 7 a.m. on May 1, 2025, as he made the trip to carry out what he described as his usual service to the people of Barbuda.

A gunman approached his vehicle and put a firearm in his face, Jones told the Senate during debate on the Firearms Amendment Bill, 2026.

“I was like, ‘Are you crazy?’ I mean, the guy pulling my bag has a gun in my face,” he recalled.

Jones said he and the attacker struggled. A shot was fired, and he tried to draw the attention of people nearby so they would know he was being robbed. As the attacker pulled at his bags, a second shot was fired.

Jones said he later felt wetness on his shoulder and realized a shot had been fired. He did not say whether he was struck or describe the extent of any injury.

He said people later asked why he had struggled with an armed robber. Jones responded that people should be able to defend what belongs to them.

Jones said the incident had been reported in the media. He also recalled that, months later, he heard that one of the suspected criminals had been killed in a shootout after a vehicle was tracked to a location.

The experience, he said, underscored how gun violence was changing life in Antigua and Barbuda. Jones said he regularly heard from people who were afraid to visit certain areas and asked him to do their shopping for them.

“We’re not supposed to reach the point in a tourist destination country,” he said.

Jones supported the firearms bill but said tougher sentences alone would not solve the problem. He called for authorities to identify how guns were entering the country, seize them and develop ways to prevent firearms from returning to circulation.

He also urged police to build stronger relationships with communities, saying effective policing required officers to know residents and understand what was happening in their neighbourhoods.

Jones said police should be more than a visible presence driving through communities. He cited the example of former Barbuda police officer “Pumpy,” who, he said, mixed with residents and learned about local concerns.

He criticised what he described as instances of police officers sitting with people on street corners and smoking marijuana. Jones said such conduct could lead criminals to believe they could act without consequences.

Jones supported equipping officers to respond when criminals shoot at them, but rejected a previous statement by Prime Minister Gaston Browne that criminals should get rid of firearms “any way they can.” Jones called the remark “loose.”

He said the government also needed to address how firearms reach Antigua and Barbuda, including reports he said he had raised with former Prime Minister Lester Bird about aircraft dropping items into the sea near Barbuda for speedboats to collect.

Jones said checks on bags had since improved, but the country needed to continue strengthening them. He urged those responsible for carrying out the law to ensure justice for people harmed by gun violence.

This article was originally published by Antigua News Room. Read the original article here: Senator recounts gunman attack as Antigua and Barbuda debates tougher firearm laws.