TRINIDAD and Tobago’s failure to arrest an inflow of and easy access to illegal weapons has already put the society in danger from gun violence in public spaces, criminologist Dr Daurius Figueira has said.

Figueira was responding to last Sunday’s gun attack at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, where a father and son with high-powered rifles opened fire on people, killing 15. Figueira was asked whether similar incidents could be possible in Trinidad and Tobago, should access become easier to Firearm User’s Licences (FULs) and guns.

The Government last week passed its Home Invasion law and has continued to state its commitment to making access to FULs easier, to allow homeowners and victims of crime to better defend themselves.