“The Minister of Justice Edson Kirindongo offers his sincerest condolences to the family members of those who lost a relative to violence during the past week. Minister Kirindongo is deeply concerned about these recent criminal events and assures the entire community and the island’s visitors that the Ministry of Justice, in particular, the Police Department and the Prosecutors Office have been working together tirelessly and in close cooperation with the French Authorities in investigating these cases. Criminal offenses, including those carried out in the house of detention, will not be tolerated under any circumstances. The perpetrators of these atrocious crimes will be pursued and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
No further details regarding these cases will be released at this time as doing so could prove to be detrimental to the ongoing investigations.
The minister is asking the community of Sint Maarten to extend their complete cooperation to the authorities in their efforts to investigate the aforementioned acts of violence and apprehend those responsible.
The Minister cautions all to be attentive in their manner of addressing the events of the past week in order not to cause any further undesirable consequences for the island.
Additional information will be issued as and when deemed appropriate by the investigating authorities.”