Yes, I read the papers every single day without fail. The only point I'm trying to make here is that at 3:00 a.m. only the less desirables will likely be lurking in the shadows out there. Yes, crime will happen during the day as i has in the past but I'll take my chances in day light rather than at that time of night. Yes, these people are on vacation and if they want to stay up all night that's strictly their business, but my belief remains that there are many areas of St. Martin that are extremely risky at night and should be avoided. I didn't think Maho would be a trouble-prone area, but it appears that it may be.

When my wife and I first visited St. Martin many years ago we met a nice couple from California at the bar at Kakao one afternoon and they even bought us a round of drinks. I asked the man "how's crime on island?" in the context of general conversation, and he said "well, it's like anywhere else in the Caribbean. You just have to be smart and not make poor choices, just like in the larger cities in the U.S." This is just my opinion, and I'm not trying to pass judgement on any one, but being out at 3:00 a.m. in the evening on SXM is a poor choice in my book. We must bear in mind that a person suffered a gunshot wound because of this.