Members of the police party that shot up a dance at La Roose Restaurant and Nightclub on the Port Henderson Road in St Catherine are seen entering the dance before the incident.

POLICE fired into a crowded dance at La Roose Restaurant and Nightclub on the Port Henderson Road in St Catherine early yesterday morning, injuring five persons and enraging patrons who claimed that the incident was triggered by a shakedown attempt.

Later in the day, Police Commissioner Francis Forbes ordered the Bureau of Special Investigation to probe the shootings and removed the cops involved from front-line duty.

Dahlia Martells, one of the victims of the La Roose shooting incident, being comforted by a close friend. Martells was grazed on the nose and had just made a statement on the incident at the Greater Portmore Police Station.

The official police report of the incident said that the cops went to the dance at the popular venue at about 3:30 am after receiving reports that the noise was disturbing residents in the area.

While speaking with the promoter of the dance, gunshots rang out and missiles were thrown at the cops by an angry crowd, the police said. When the shooting ended, five persons, among them Doreen Prendergrast, also known as "Pinkie"; and reigning Portmore Dancehall Queen, Dahlia Martells, were found with gunshot wounds. They were taken to hospital.

Prendergrast was shot in the face, while a bullet grazed Martells' left nostril.

However, a source close to the promoters alleged that the dance was deliberately shot up by a policeman because his demand for cash was not met.

"Earlier in the evening them come and demand money," the source told the Observer on condition of anonymity. "When them come in the morning them want 30 grand ($30,000). Dem offer dem 20 and dem refuse it," the source said.

"This man tek set pan most a di promoter dem inna Portmore and always want money fi nuh turn off the sound. Can one man have the whole Portmore at ransom so?" the source asked.

The police version of the shootings was also disputed by Martells, who admitted that the patrons did, in fact, hurl missiles at the police, but insisted that no one fired at them.

"Nobody nuh fire pan dem," she told the Observer. "About four of them were beating up a man and the crowd get vex and tell dem fi let him go. Them start throw bottle, a dat start the shooting," said Martells.

Hours after the incident, a lone slipper lay in a pool of blood at the scene as a reminder of the pre-dawn mayhem. A number of gunshot holes were seen at various points on the building.

The fear factor

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DANGEROUS PETS