Firearms have been used in more than three-quarters of Saint Lucia’s homicides so far this year, prompting police to renew concerns about weapons entering the country and call for stronger interagency action.
Of the 48 homicides recorded between January 1 and September 23, 36 or 77% involved firearms, according to figures released by the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (RSLPF). Nine victims died from stab wounds, while four deaths involved blunt-force trauma.
Superintendent Delvin Mathurin, attached to the Gangs, Narcotics and Firearms Unit and the Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU), said the continued use of guns in homicides and attempted murders points to the persistent proliferation of weapons through Saint Lucia’s borders and reinforces the need for “urgent and more robust interagency collaboration” on firearm suppression.
The firearm figures come despite an overall decline in both crime and homicides.
Police recorded 10,061 crimes during the reporting period, 471 fewer than during the corresponding period in 2025. Mathurin described the overall trend as positive.
Homicides also fell from 59 during the same period last year to 48 this year, an 18% reduction. Police said all 48 homicides recorded this year have been classified as murders, with no police shootings or other categories included in that figure.
The Southern Division recorded the highest number of reported crimes at 3,945, followed by the Central Division with 3,633 and the Northern Division with 2,483.
Police also examined several priority offences, including burglary, robbery, drug and firearm offences, motor vehicle theft, stealing from persons and sexual offences.
Men accounted for 94% of homicide victims, while five of those killed were women. Mathurin said two of the female victims were killed in firearm-related incidents one linked to domestic violence and another believed to be gang-related. Another woman died from stab wounds, while other cases remain subject to court or inquest proceedings. Police have also not yet established the motive or circumstances surrounding one of the incidents.
