Nagra Plunkett, Staff Reporter

WESTERN BUREAU:

A police constable was wounded during an alleged gun battle with four armed men, one of whom was fatally shot, in Anchovy, St. James, yesterday afternoon.

"The policeman got shot above the ankle, it is a flesh wound. It's not considered serious. He is in hospital," said Superintendent Steve McGreggor, new head of the St. James Police Division.

Up to press time, the dead man was still unidentified.

He is the 10th person to be killed in confrontations with the St. James police since the start of the year.

Caught in dragnet

Supt. McGreggor said the four men were caught in a dragnet.

"We have stepped up our roadblock initiative at most of the entrances and exits to the parish, and we have been using simultaneous spot checks," he explained. "The men happened upon one of these when the incident occurred."

Reports are that, about 2:15 p.m., two policemen were on mobile patrol in the Roehampton area when they signalled a white Toyota Corolla motor car, with four men, to stop.

It is said that, on exiting the vehicle, the men fired at the cops and the fire was returned. One of the gunmen was killed, while the others escaped in nearby bushes.

The Gleaner learned that the owners of the car were being questioned as the vehicle was only reported stolen in the parish shortly after the shooting took place.

nagra.plunkett@gleanerjm.com