Deadly stand-off shakes up Mandeville

More than 1,000 rounds were fired during a stand-off between members of the security forces and an armed man on Caledonia Avenue in Mandeville, Manchester, yesterday.

This according to Senior Superintendent of Police Dennis Brooks, senior communication strategist in the Jamaica Constabulary Force. He said the man was killed hours after he killed another man, also on Caledonia Road. That incident reportedly started over a dispute about food price.

"Reports are that the shooter and another man were involved in a dispute over the purchase of eggs. It is alleged that the man felt he had been overcharged and the argument escalated from there," Brooks said.

The police stated that the man later retrieved a firearm and shot the other man. The injured man attempted to drive himself to the hospital before crashing along the roadway. He was taken to hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries. That shooting prompted an immediate investigation by the Manchester police, who, acting on intelligence, went to another location on Caledonia Avenue where they were greeted with gunfire from the suspect. This led to a more than four-hour stand-off within which members of the security forces tried unsuccessfully to get the shooter to surrender. The security team managed to enter the building where they found the alleged gunman suffering from gunshot wounds. He was transported to hospital where he later died. Two illegal firearms and multiple ammunitions were recovered at the scene.

The Independent Commission of Investigations have launched a probe into the incident.

- S.M.L.