Rural and easygoing was how many would describe Anse La Raye, a quaint fishing village, home to the celebrated Fish Friday. That was before the village began to face the same troubles that plague the rest of St Lucia.

In June of this year, an incident where gunmen opened fire on a house in Anse La Raye, killing one man and injuring members of his family was widely reported. One month later, police reported another shooting that left three men wounded. On Monday, September 7, police reported another incident, this time, a fatal stabbing of a bus driver from the community.

Much like the shooting in Anse La Raye that left three men wounded, eyewitnesses told the STAR that Norbert Mc Donald who went by the name, “Bortie,” a bus driver on the Castries to Anse La Raye route, had been playing dominoes before he got into a confrontation with a much younger man.

“I heard them quarrelling,” said one man once the STAR arrived to Front Street where the incident took place. “Bortie was telling the guy I’m not your friend, don’t interfere with me.”

The man said he stood there to “hear what kind of name the man calling Bortie,” only to discover that the young man was only calling the 41-year-old by his nickname, “Bortie.”

“I heard the young man say, “Bortie, you can’t prevent me from saying Bortie. Then he said Bortie three times and then Bortie told him not to say it again. Then I saw Bortie slam both hands in the man stomach and the man go and wreck on that thing there,” said the Anse La Raye resident pointing to a wooden divider nearby. “Afterwards, another partner told Bortie, “Bortie garcon, the man will hit you back!” Then the man went behind him there and after that finished I turned around, and I heard somebody shout, Bortie, watch it!”

After that the man said all he saw was Bortie standing with the piece of steel in his mouth.

“Then he just pulled it out and endless blood started pouring from his mouth,” he continued. “I’ve never seen that much blood before. He put both hands on his knees and the blood was just rushing from his mouth. He went to rest on a car and then he just collapsed.”

The eyewitness said people tried to get Bortie to ignore the young man, telling him he should leave him alone and if he felt that the man was troubling him, he should go to the police station. When asked whether the two men had a long-standing dispute, the man could not say. He did say however, that people in the community had mixed feeling about the incident.

“The give Bortie wrong but they still give the young fella wrong too. I don’t believe that boy go to kill Bortie,” he said. “They tried to bring him to the Victoria Hospital but by the time they got there, it was too late.”

On Monday bloodstains could still be seen on popular Fish Friday Street. The STAR met with Norbert’s brother in law, Eustace Joseph, who said Mc Donald had been “an irie man.”

“Just one thing about him most people didn’t like, he was troublesome,” said Joseph. “He liked giving a lot of jokes and sometimes, he didn’t know when to stop.”

Joseph said it was not the first time Mc Donald had been playing dominoes at the Bayside. He said he 41-year-old who lived at Au Tabor Heights in Anse La Raye with his wife and sixteen-year-old daughter loved playing dominoes. Mc Donald even had a competition trophy for his past time. Sunday had been his day off the bus route.

“I’ve been driving for him for awhile and to be honest, he’s a very loving guy to his family and friends,” said Joseph. “He just had a loud voice. To tell you the truth, the way he plays with you, it’ll look like he’s serious, but he’s just joking around. As the old saying goes, whatever you like doing, that’s what you’ll die in.”

Norbert Mc Donald’s death brings the island’s homicide number to 26. A release sent out by the police stated that the incident took place at around 11:25 am on Sunday, September 6. A nineteen-year-old male is currently in police custody assisting with investigations.

Much like the shooting in Anse La Raye that left three men wounded, eyewitnesses told the STAR that Norbert Mc Donald who went by the name, “Bortie,” a bus driver on the Castries to Anse La Raye route, had been playing dominoes before he got into a cconfrontation with a much younger man.

“I heard them quarrelling,” said one man once the STAR arrived to Front Street where the incident took place. “Bortie was telling the guy I’m not your friend, don’t interfere with me.”

The man said he stood there to “hear what kind of name the man calling Bortie,” only to discover that the young man was only calling the 41-year-old by his nickname, “Bortie.”

“I heard the young man say, “Bortie, you can’t prevent me from saying Bortie. Then he said Bortie three times and then Bortie told him not to say it again. Then I saw Bortie slam both hands in the man stomach and the man go and wreck on that thing there,” said the Anse La Raye resident pointing to a wooden divider nearby. “Afterwards, another partner told Bortie, “Bortie garcon, the man will hit you back!” Then the man walked behind him there and when that finished I turned around, and I heard somebody shout, Bortie, watch it!”

After that the man said all he saw was Bortie standing with the piece of steel in his mouth.
“Then he just pulled it out and endless blood started pouring from his mouth,” he continued. “I’ve never seen that much blood before. He put both hands on his knees and the blood was just rushing from his mouth. He went to rest on a car and then he just collapsed.”

The eyewitness said people tried to get Bortie to ignore the young man, telling him he should leave him alone and if he felt that the man was troubling him, he should go to the police station. When asked whether the two men had a long-standing dispute, the man could not say. He did say however, that people in the community had mixed feelings about the incident.

“The give Bortie wrong but they still give the young fella wrong too. I don’t believe that boy go to kill Bortie,” he said. “They tried to bring him to the Victoria Hospital but by the time they got there, it was too late.”

On Monday bloodstains could still be seen on popular Fish Friday Street. The STAR met with Norbert’s brother in law, Eustace Joseph, who said Mc Donald had been “an irie man.”

“Just one thing about him most people didn’t like, he was troublesome,” said Joseph. “He liked giving a lot of jokes and sometimes, he didn’t know when to stop.”

Joseph said it was not the first time Mc Donald had played dominoes at the Bayside. He said he 41-year-old who lived at Au Tabor Heights in Anse La Raye with his wife and sixteen-year-old daughter loved playing dominoes. Mc Donald even had a competition trophy for his past time. Sunday had been his day off the bus route.

“I’ve been driving for him for awhile and to be honest, he’s a very loving guy to his family and friends,” said Joseph. “He just had a loud voice. To tell you the truth, the way he plays with you, it’ll look like he’s serious, but he’s just joking around. As the old saying goes, whatever you like doing, that’s what you’ll die in.”

Norbert Mc Donald’s death brings the island’s homicide number to 26. A release sent out by the police stated that the incident took place at around 11:25 am on Sunday, September 6. A nineteen-year-old male is currently in police custody assisting with investigations.