Pike Worker Killed by Off-duty Officer Leaves Behind Pregnant Wife

Advertisement

NASSAU , BAHAMAS – A young family’s future shattered in an instant as we learned more about the American citizen fatally shot by an off-duty officer over the weekend.

The Pike Electrical worker’s family and friends rallied to support his pregnant wife.

The incident drew widespread attention, with the National Security Minister responding.

Our Delvardo Emmanuel reports.

A GoFundMe account was set up for American electrical worker, Cody Castillo.

The Crawfordville, Florida native leaves behind his wife, Makayla, who is expecting their first child this August.

The two had been married just one year.

Now, instead of preparing for the arrival of their baby boy, Makayla is preparing for life without her husband.

The online fundraiser, created to help with funeral costs and living expenses, raised over 20 thousand dollars in just two days.

The incident happened Saturday evening outside the Plantation Restaurant off West Bay Street.

According to police, an off-duty officer was at the location when an altercation broke out.

Investigators said during that incident, the Pike worker got in his vehicle and allegedly drove toward the officer.

The official police report said the officer, fearing for his life, fired a single shot, killing the expecting father.

This was not the first tragedy linked to that area, as the establishment’s owner was shot and killed back in 2018.

Meantime, the GoFundMe page painted a picture of a young couple just starting their life together.

It described a love story cut short, with his wife Makayla left to grieve while preparing to welcome their son alone.

As news of the incident spread, social media went into a frenzy with tributes.

One user wrote, “Evil world we live in man, gone way too soon.”

Another person posted, “Cody was always a great guy to be around.”

And another said Cody’s happiness was contagious.

Saturday’s incident was one of two police-involved shootings.

The latest happened early this morning near Montague Motors.

Police said a suspect allegedly wielded a cutlass and struck an officer, prompting the officer to fire shots in response. That man died on the scene as well.

National Security Minister Wayne Munroe told reporters outside the House of Assembly that while officers have a right to defend themselves, every case will be reviewed to determine if any charges are necessary.

Wayne Munroe – Minister, National Security

“It will depend on the threat that faces you. It’s governed by what is justifiable as set out in the penal code. As I said, the police will investigate. If they find that there’s cause to levy criminal charges, they will levy criminal charges, as they did, for instance, against the police officer who shot and killed a young man in Exuma. If there isn’t any case for criminal charges, they will forward it onto the coroner.”

We reached out to Pike Electric for comment, but up to news time there was no response.

However, Bahamas Power Grid, a local subsidiary, said they were deeply saddened by the loss of one of Pike’s team members.