Prime Minister of Saint Lucia Phillip Pierre, on Tuesday (April 11), instructed the local police take the necessary legal means to ‘wipe out’ criminal forces plaguing the island.

Pierre who was speaking during a press briefing said that “there can be no excuse for that level of criminality.”

The recent upsurge in gun violence in Vieux Fort over the Easter weekend has claimed the four St Lucian lives.

A woman, who was identified as Nicole Charles, 47, sustained gunshot injuries on Sunday (April 8) while lying on her bed in Bruceville.

A toddler and his grandmother died from gunshot injuries on Saturday night in Vieux Fort, shortly after a man was gunned down at Cedar Heights.

“We have to wipe out that criminality. That criminality must stop and I make no excuses for it. I am going to say to you – the government will use all the resources. The police have been instructed to use all available means within the law – all available legal means to wipe out that criminality in this country,” Pierre said.

The prime minister also highlighted a need for more social interventions and crime reduction strategies.

“The message is clear – social interventions, the community outreach, the empowerment will continue. But criminality must stop and all legal means will be used to wipe out that criminality,” he stated.