The three men killed in Wednesday’s shooting along the Nelson Mandela Highway in St Catherine are presumed to be suspects in a string of robberies, one of which was recorded on a CCTV camera. Footage of the robbery at a business establishment was released, showing three armed men exiting a black car in a parking lot and entering a building.
Once inside, they carried out the robbery at gunpoint before fleeing in the vehicle. Police identified the same vehicle as a black Honda Fit motorcar, but they did not confirm if the men in the video were the same men in the shooting.
According to police, the confrontation occurred after members of the Counter-Terrorism and Organised Crime Investigation Branch acted on intelligence about the black Honda Fit linked to the robberies. Police spotted the vehicle around 11:45 a.m. on Wednesday and signalled the driver to pull over. When the driver allegedly failed to comply with the police instructions, the police pursued the vehicle and intercepted it on the Mandela Highway.
According to police, the men inside the vehicle challenged the officers by discharging their guns. Police exchanged gunfire, and at the end of the alleged standoff, all three occupants were suffering gunshot wounds. The men were taken to the Spanish Town Hospital but succumbed to their injuries sometime after midday.
Police reported that they recovered two firearms, a Taurus pistol and a Beretta pistol, at the scene. The report says that both of the guns were loaded with rounds. The shooting has since been reported to the Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM).
This latest confrontation adds to a growing national conversation about police fatal shootings. Since the start of the year, there have been 269 deaths linked to police shootings, a significant increase compared to the 166 recorded up to November 17 last year. The difference marks a 62 per cent rise when compared to the same period. The month of November alone has already accounted for 15 such cases.
