PUZZLING ESCAPE

Gunmen elude police dragnet after five-hour stand-off downtown

BY INGRID BROWN Sunday Observer senior reporter browni@jamaicaobserver.com

Sunday, September 05, 2010

Two gunmen, who it was believed had taken employees hostage at the Juici Patties outlet at the corner of Beckford and West streets in downtown Kingston late yesterday evening and held police at bay for hours, managed to elude a large dragnet of police, soldiers and negotiators outside the establishment.

News later emerged that the four employees who were in the building for well over two hours, and who were believed to have been held against their will, had locked themselves in bathrooms and only exited when they felt it was safe to do so.

At the end of the near five-hour stand-off, which began at approximately 5:30 pm, there were more questions than answers as the police were unable to say at what point the gunmen escaped and via what route.

"I can't say what is the situation with the gunmen," said Karl Angel, the constabulary's director of communication.

The police were also unable to say if the two negotiators who were rushed to the scene earlier had managed to make contact with the gunmen or if members of the Tactical Team, who stormed the building, had even seen the gunmen inside. Also among the unanswered questions was whether or not the establishment was robbed.

Angel also told the media that the police were still doing preliminary checks and that the operator of the fast food outlet was still doing "due diligence" to determine if the place was robbed.

"I can report that the four hostages in the building are secure and unharmed," said Angell. "They were debriefed and are receiving counselling."

According to Angel, at approximately 5:30 pm, a foot patrol from Tivoli Gardens received a call that a robbery was being committed and that persons were taken hostage.

He said the police quickly sealed the perimeter until reinforcements arrived.

It didn't take long for the police to cordon off the area and the massive crowd which had gathered in the bustling commercial district strained their eyes in the hope of seeing someone emerge from the drawn metal shutters at the fast-food outlet.

Many were confident that the gunmen were cornered, and with no place to escape would soon give themselves up or be cut down in a hail of bullets after the hostages were freed.

But nearly three hours into the stand-off, three women ran from the building and were quickly ushered away by the police. Close to 45 minutes later, the supervisor of the establishment also emerged.

Earlier in the night, as the drama unfolded, Assistant Commissioner Gervis Taylor told the Sunday Observer that the two gunmen had entered the establishment shortly before closing time and proceeded to rob the workers.

The men, he said, enquired about the whereabouts of the supervisor before proceeding to where she was.

It was at that time, according to Taylor, that the women locked themselves in the bathroom.

Taylor told the Sunday Observer then that the workers who had fled the building were unable to say where in the store the supervisor was located or if the men were still inside.

The crowd, which had obviously anticipated a dramatic end to the stand-off, went home dejected with many still questioning what had really transpired.

They had strained their eyes for close to five hours to view the half-closed shutters behind which it was believed terrified hostages were being held. Many were in disbelief as to how the men could have eluded the police.

"It better them man deh just give up themselves because there is no way out now," one bystander had exclaimed earlier. But at the end of the drama the bystanders were just as amazed at the turn of events.

According to one man who said he witnessed what happened, the gunmen were still inside when the police reinforcements came. He claimed that the gunmen had posed as customers and waited until the shutters had been drawn half-way down, signalling closing time, to make their move.

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