B.D.F. soldier almost killed in Barbados
Andre Gabb
A Belize Defense Force Soldier was critically injured in Barbados on Friday night and his family is preparing to travel to the island. Forty-five year old Warrant Officer Andre Gabb is currently attached to the Caribbean Defense Pact’s Regional Security System also referred to as R.S.S. Gabb was along with two friends when he was stabbed in Carlton, Black Rock, about two miles north of Bridgetown. The soldier was rushed to the surgical ward at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital where he remains in critical condition. Police have charged twenty-five year old Jabarie Kemar King, of Block twenty-six D, Haynesville, Saint James for the offence of Serious Bodily Harm. King is scheduled to appear at the District A Magistrate Court on Tuesday. News Five spoke to Gabb’s brother who says preparations are underway for his mother and wife to leave the country to be by his side.
Dwight Gabb, Brother of Stabbing Victim
“He’s been there for the most part of a year training for sergeant major. He’s currently warrant officer two and that training takes him over most of the Caribbean islands, including Barbados.”
Jose Sanchez
“An incident occurred what happened? What day did it happen?”
Dwight Gabb
“From the information we are receiving, he was with some friends and they went to the supermarket and they had some altercation with some folks from that side. I’m not sure what transpired, but he got stabbed in the chest and it punctured his heart and he had to undergo surgery.”
Jose Sanchez
“I know there are different versions of the story. Were they being attacked? Was he parting a fight?”
Dwight Gabb
“Umm, it sounds like the story of a good Samaritan. He came in for a friend to probably quell a situation or try to seize the guys that were doing his friend wrong and in that, he got stabbed.”
Jose Sanchez
“The wound did puncture his heart?”
Dwight Gabb
“Yes, it punctured his heart and he underwent surgery for the most of Friday night.”
Jose Sanchez
“They’ve induced coma? What is the situation?”
Dwight Gabb
Dwight Gabb
“Currently he’s sedated; not in a coma. And from the information we gathered, yesterday evening about seven, we got a call from Barbados and the person told me that he is aware; they speak with him. He is able to move his mouth, twitch his mouth and move his fingers. We have to wait until they are able to go back to the hospital, visiting hours so that we can get an update.”
Jose Sanchez
“Have you been in contact with the B.D.F.? What have they been communicating to you?”
Dwight Gabb
“His wife is the main person for B.D.F. and they are assisting with getting her travel arrangements to Barbados.”
Jose Sanchez
“Will she be going alone or other family members will be accompanying her?”
Dwight Gabb
“She will be accompanied by my mom and my brother. Thanks for the support, we have family and friends that are supporting us and giving prayers and we really appreciate it. It’s been very hard since we heard about it Friday night.”
The R.S.S., which is located at the Paragon base of the Barbados Defense Force, is the defense alliance of several Caribbean nations. At that location, Gabb was acquiring valuable knowledge because the organization assists police and armies of the region with training in drug interdiction, riot control and disaster response and relief.
I guess he will need more training if he got stabbed. My prayers for the family.
Wow, what a sad and surprising incident. Let’s pray for his full recovery.
Apparently they need to include hand to hand combat as part if the curriculum
He was charged for “the offence of Serious Bodily Harm” wtf…how about attempted murder charge? Our government needs to pressure them to get justice.
Lets hope and pray for a speedy recovery.
that guy that did the the stabbing needs to be charged with attempted murder he almost killed one of our belizean soldier justice needs to be serve .
In the States that would have been a hate crime.You attacked people for being who they are.The world is full of intolerant people.People from Barbados are no different from the rest of the world.Some people hate people because they are white,black,gay,etc.
Maybe it’s me, actually it’s not but I think the story doesn’t tell you much for some of the comments that are being made. There is only one part of the story and you really don’t know what he was doing to get stabbed. The person who stabbed him could have felt threaten in some way. Don’t know but hopefully a full investigation will be completed and the results will be released. IMO.
I am deeply sadden by this disturbing incident and also some of the nonchalant and insensitive comments posted in regards to the victim and I am also appalled that any Belizean/Any person would be so heartless towards the victim and then try to mitigate by sending pseudo comforting words to the family of the victim. I know first hand the blatant discrimination and offensive attitude that Bajans hold towards other Caribbean nationals (not all nationals of Barbados harbor this trait but a few to many and Guyanese and Jamaicans they treat even worse). My Prayers go out to Mr. Gabb and his family for a complete and speedy recovery!!
Belize is located in Central America, but in almost every way, Belize is a Caribbean country in culture , food , language, music and religion. All British Caribbean former colonies have the same culture. The difference in Belize is the influence of our Latin neighbors, tamales ,panades, etc and of course some cross pollination and the infusion of some spanish words and of course the Garifuna influence.. The weirdest thing for Caribbean people in NYC is to hear our Belize Maya “talk kriol”, which brings me to the point I want to make. Allegedly, the stabber in this story was annoyed by the Belize Kriol he was hearing. Look it. NYC has every race of people on earth and Ive heard every Caribbean accent there is, from Guyana to Jamaica. They are all the same and different at the same time. The difference is the cadence, fast , slow, staccato, but if you speak kriol, one can understand them all. I love the Trini accent, St Vincent, St Kitts, Anguilla, Nevis and so forth and so on. It doesn’t make sense to me that this bus driver would be so annoyed with the Belize kriol accent to the point where he would stab someone. I’ve been to Barbados. Bajan kriol sound closer to Belize Kriol than Jamaican or Trini. Something wong here. A speedy and health recovery to Sgt. Major Gabb. Tangentially, crime is rampant in Bridgetown and tourists are advised to avoid some parts of the city, just like Belize.
All my simpaty to W.O. Gabb…might whatever God out there, if any, assist him and bring him back alive to his family and friends. Those out there that blow air in their mouth talking about more training and/or hand-to-hand combat should consider that even though you watch a lot of movies a real combat it’s another story! And even if you’re very well trained, the first comment whatever instructor would tell you is that when dealing with a knife…you always get hurt, no matter what is your experience and combat readiness!