POLICE were last night still searching for four gunmen who shot dead a police corporal inside a bar on Deanery Road in Kingston Thursday night.

Corporal Everton Campbell became the 13th cop to be killed violently since the start of the year and his murder elicited an expression of regret from National Security Minister Dr Peter Phillips.

The minister extended condolences to Campbell’s family, colleagues and friends and said his slaying “reminds us… that the battle against criminality must be intensified, as it is evident that certain segments of the society have declared war on the state and have decided to target our police officers”.

According to the Constabulary Communication Network, Campbell was inside a bar and restaurant called Deanery House, in eastern Kingston, when the four gunmen alighted from a white motor vehicle and proceeded to rob patrons at gunpoint.

Campbell challenged the gunmen in an effort to foil the robbery, but was overpowered by the men and shot several times. The gunmen took his service revolver bearing the serial number D996920, before escaping.

Corporal Campbell died in the Kingston Public Hospital while undergoing treatment.

Yesterday, Campbell’s colleagues at the Waterford Police Station, where he worked for more than five years, remembered him as “a humble man who adored children”.

The corporal was 45 years-old and was father to three children.

Local human rights group, Jamaicans For Justice, condemned Corporal Campbell’s slaying and called for an end to the cycle of violence that has gripped the nation.

The group also called on all law-abiding citizens to work together to build a better future for Jamaica.

The other policemen killed so far this year are:

* Constable Oniel Spencer;

* District Constable James Thomas;

* Constable Basil Black;

* Special Constable Wilfred Gayle;

* Detective Sergeant Edmond Brown;

* Detective Inspector Rupert Gardner;

* Detective Corporal Errol Bell;

* District Constable Lindel Smith;

* Detective Corporal Joshua Graham;

* District Constable Nathaniel Williams;

* Constable Rennick Sparks; and

* Constable Nugent Reid.