ONE security guard was gunned down and three others shot and injured yesterday as an armed man tried to shoot his way past the guards after his daring attempted robbery of a taxi operator in the busy Half Way Tree area of Kingston.

The men were hit as the gunman tried to get away from the crowded parking lot of the closed Shell gas station at the intersection of Eastwood Park and Molynes roads, which serves as a taxi stand.

The armed man shot his way past guards from three different companies as pedestrians scurried for cover. Those who witnessed the shooting had little to say, yesterday, but the police have launched an appeal for eyewitnesses to come forward.

The dead security guard has been identified as Walford Edwards from Atlas. His co-worker Andrew McLarty was shot and injured, along with Electro Guard employee Lynford White and a King Alarm guard whose name had not been released up to press time last night.

All four men were shot, shortly after 1:00 pm yesterday.

“At around 1:35 pm a thief stole a car from a taxi man and as he was trying to further rob him, two Atlas security guards who were riding their bikes foiled his attempt,” said Detective Constable Michael Bailey from the Half Way Tree Police Station.

The cabbie had managed to signal to the passing guards, making them know that he needed help, cops said.

“They (the guards) opened fire on him and he returned the fire, hitting them both. As he tried to escape, he came upon a King Alarm vehicle and shots were exchanged, but the robber escaped,” said Constable Bailey.

Up to an hour-and-a-half after the shooting, the King Alarm car sat in the parking lot of the nearby Apex medical Centre, one of its front seats soaked with blood and the left side window shattered.

CCN confirmed last night that the armed man then encountered an Electro Guard employee whom he also shot and injured.

All four injured guards were taken to the hospital where Edwards was pronounced dead. McLarty remained in critical condition last night, while the Electro Guard and King Alarm employees were both treated and released.

Yesterday afternoon, traffic ground to a virtual standstill in the normally busy section of the capital as cops cordoned off the crime scene.

Up to late last night, the armed man had still not been apprehended.