THREE PEOPLE, incl-uding a police constable, were shot and injured during a running gun battle between the police and a gunman in downtown Kingston yesterday.
The shoot-out transformed sections of the commercial district into a ghost town for a short period as store owners quickly drew down their shutters and sidewalk vendors scampered to safer ground.
The flare-up of violence broke the relative calm downtown Kingston since new anti-crime measures were implemented a month ago.
When the smoke cleared, a 22-year-old man, identified as Prince Charles Wynter, was found suffering from a gunshot wound. A .38 Smith & Wesson revolver and four spent shells were taken from him. Wynter, who lives on Beeston Street in Central Kingston, has been arrested.
The injured policeman, 23-year-old Dwayne Brown, who is attached to the Mobile Reserve Unit, was shot in the wrist. The third victim was a passer-by who got caught in the exchange of gunfire.
Police reports say that shortly after midday, a resident saw a man getting off a public passenger bus with a gun in his hand on King Street and alerted a police patrol. The reports say the police confronted the man and a running gun battle, from King Street to Law Street, ensued.
The incident brought vehicular traffic to a halt as scores of police and military personnel, including the Anti Crime Management team led by Superintendent Donald Pusey, rushed to the scene. A Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) helicopter was also brought in to assist with air surveillance because of reports that gunmen were firing at members of the security forces from a high-rise building.
