Policemen take evidence from this Toyota coaster bus on which two men were shot dead during a robbery along Slipe Road, St Andrew, yesterday. - Norman Grindley/Acting Photography Editor

Traffic in the vicinity of Cross Roads, St Andrew, came to a standstill yesterday morning, following a shooting on a bus loaded with passengers, which left them terrified and two robbers dead.

The men were shot by a licensed firearm holder who took them on, along with their four accomplices, at 9 a.m.

The accomplices fled.

Police personnel blocked off the road to collect evidence, forcing motorists to seek alternative routes to get to their destinations.

The Constabulary Communication Network (CCN) reported that the six thugs attempted to rob a bus travelling from downtown Kingston.

According to CCN, the men boarded the bus at Torrington Bridge and, on reaching the intersection of Studio One Boulevard and Slipe Road, brandished guns and knives and began to demand money and other valuables from the passengers.

The licensed firearm holder, who was a passenger in the bus, challenged the men, killing two on the spot - Kashka Clarke and Damian Williams.

But Clarke's family members claimed that he was not a criminal. Elaine Scott, the mother of the 23-year-old, said her son was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. "He is a janitor at a hotel. He's not a criminal," Scott said.

She said her son was a quiet person, often referred to as 'Silent Man' by his friends.

"He was on his way to work. He wasn't robbing anybody," she added.