National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds says evidence shows a link between the increase in the issuance of Firearms Users Licenses and the rise in violent crime.

Mr. Hinds was speaking yesterday to a Joint Select Committee on national security examining factors that contribute to the prevalence of illegal firearms and gun violence in Trinidad and Tobago.

He responded to a question posed by committee member Nigel De Freitas.

He said the records he has at hand show an exponential increase in the issuance of FUL’s and in the context of what the law calls variations.

The National Security Minister said some license holders might have taken advantage of this part of the law.

Minister Hinds supported his point by making reference to the recent murder suicide in San Fernando in which the perpetrator was the holder of legal firearms.