The emotion is still strong this morning, in front of this Saint-Esprit mini-market, on the edge of Vauclin.
Accompanied by emergency services, they treated four people in total, two of whom unfortunately died.
The first, aged 24was in cardio-respiratory arrest when help arrived. The second, aged 35was airlifted to the Martinique University Hospital, where he did not survive the consequences of his injuries.
For one of the victims, it is incomprehension and anger.
I want to know why they shot there, machine-gunning people like that to kill my cousin. I don’t know where they killed my cousin. I see this on the ground there and I’m going to have to see this every day! I come and go here every day. This is not possible
Three suspects wanted
According to the gendarmerie, three individuals who were traveling in a car stopped in front of a business to demand money and, having been refused, used their weapon.
A search system was set up after these events, specifies the gendarmerie.
Residents, once again, say they are dismayed.
-We don’t want to do anything, we don’t want to eat, we ask ourselves questions. We looked at Iran, Iraq, it became like that here too! We have people who stop, who shoot, like that, at people without warning. When you take life like that, it makes you sad! 20 years, 25 years, 30 years. They are in the prime of life, that’s when you should enjoy life. And, for something trivial, we say…”
An upsurge in violence that calls out
These two homicides are the first in 2025. Last year, the authorities counted 24 murders, including 17 by firearm.
Martinique thus ranks 3rd among the French regions most affected by homicides, behind Guyana and Guadeloupe, according to the statistics service of the Ministry of the Interior, over the period 2021-2023.
An upsurge in violence that calls out the mayor of Saint-Esprit, Fred-Michel Tirault.
For him, it is necessary to strengthen resources, particularly in terms of prevention.
The circulation of weapons is still worrying for Martinique. The problem of security concerns us all and everyone must be vigilant. We must act on prevention. It is also important to put video surveillance cameras everywhere because it allows us to quickly get to the bottom of things. In the Holy Spirit, many offenses have been clarified thanks to this. And besides, delinquency overall has decreased.
Gendarmerie investigations are continuing into these first two murders committed in 2025.
