Portmore St Catherine. Early Sunday morning, a struggle between the police and an armed suspect in Portmore, St Catherine, ended badly. A police officer opened fire on the suspect after he allegedly bit the officer during a desperate attempt to disarm him.
The officers rushed the unidentified man to the hospital, where the authorities pronounced him DOA. The unfortunate incident occurred in the Southboro community in Portmore, St Catherine, Jamaica.
According to the police, at about 1:20 a.m., a police team on patrol received a tip that armed men had been traveling in a Toyota Voxy motorcar in the community.
Soon after, the police spotted the vehicle and ordered the driver to stop. The driver complied. But one occupant reportedly exited the vehicle with a firearm, opened fire at the police, and fled on foot, while the driver sped away.
The police gave chase but lost sight of the fleeing suspect.
Undeterred, the officers initiated a search of the area, which led them to a house along Gilden Way. While there, they received information that a man was hiding inside. The cops gained entry and accosted the suspect.
During the arrest, the cops alleged that the suspect, who had a firearm in his waistband, attacked one of the officers by biting his finger while trying to wrest the officer’s weapon away.
As the struggle progressed, the suspect reportedly bit the officer while the officer pushed him back before managing to draw his firearm. The police subsequently discharged a round from his service pistol, hitting the suspect.
The suspect eventually fell, clutching a nine-millimeter Browning pistol that had a magazine with four rounds of ammunition.
Cops rushed the injured suspect to the Spanish Town Hospital, where he expired.
The Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) has since launched a probe into the incident.
‘Boo’ gunned down while playing dominoes in Portmore, St Catherine
A second tragic incident occurred in Portmore St Catherine, on Sunday night. An armed man entered a bar where men were playing dominoes. The armed man discharged his firearm, hitting a construction worker before fleeing in a getaway car.
Concerned residents rushed the victim to the Spanish Town hospital, where the authorities pronounced him DOA.
The police identified the victim as 24-year-old Davian Smith, o/c ‘Boo,’ from March Pen Road in St. Catherine.
According to reports, at about 8:50 p.m., Smith was playing dominoes with three other men at a bar when a Honda Stream motorcar pulled up outside.
Moments later, a man exited the vehicle, entered the bar, pulled a handgun from his waistband, and opened fire.
Then, the gunman ran out of the bar, jumped back into the waiting vehicle, and sped away.
After the shooting, patrons found Smith on the bar floor with multiple wounds in the upper body.
The police have yet to establish a motive for the shooting. The Portmore Criminal Investigation Branch has launched an investigation into the killing.