WESTERN BUREAU — Residents of Clarke’s Town in Trelawny, angered by the police’s refusal to hand them four men allegedly responsible for the near-fatal stabbing of a young gas station attendant in the town, stoned the local police station and blocked the main road for more than eight hours Saturday.

The gas station employee — Wayne Clarke, 24 — was stabbed in the right and left sides during an altercation with the four men, two of whom are from Seaview Gardens in Kingston. The others are from Litchfield in South Trelawny.

The sub-officer in charge of the Clarke’s Town Police Station, Sergeant Ernest Reid, told the Observer yesterday that the men in custody were among a minibus-load of people on their way to Burwood beach in North Trelawny when, at about 2:30 pm, they had a flat tyre and had to pull into the gas station to replace it.

It was there that the argument developed between them and Clarke over where they could wash their hands.

As the argument became more heated, Sergeant Reid said, one of the four accused brandished a knife and used it to stab Clarke twice.

Clarke was taken to hospital where he has been admitted in “very serious” condition. The four men were taken into police custody.

However, shortly after the four men were taken to the police station, the other minibus passengers had to seek refuge there as approximately 150 angry residents swarmed the station demanding that the suspects be handed over to them.

When their demand was not met, Sergeant Reid said, the residents proceeded to throw stones at the station house.

They also destroyed the minibus in which the men and the other passengers travelled by slashing the tyres, smashing the windscreen and setting the seats ablaze.

When those actions yielded no success, the residents took to the streets, burning debris and using the items to block the main road.

It was not until 10:45 pm, Sergeant Reid said, that the residents, whose numbers had by then exceeded 200, decided to disperse and the police managed to clear away the debris.

Meanwhile, the four suspects are to face an identification parade later this week.