A group of men, reportedly posing as police officers, yesterday hijacked a Lascelles dry goods truck in St Catherine, tied up the driver and then led a security response team on a high-speed chase that ended in a fierce gun battle on Shortwood Road in Kingston when the vehicle crashed.

Two of the hijackers were shot and injured during the shoot-out, while two security guards from Guardsman sustained injuries after the men slammed the truck into their vehicle.

Reports are that six men in a car bearing a government plate stopped the truck – which was laden with more than $2.5 million worth of food items and liquor – near the salt factory in Old Harbour, St Catherine around 5:00 am. The men then reportedly tied up the driver and drove off with him in the car, before tossing him out into nearby bushes.

The men, whom the police believe are from the Grants Pen community, then headed into Kingston with their loot.

A security guard involved in the incident told the Observer that about 5:30 am they received information that the truck had been stolen and was heading into Kingston. The team tried to intercept the vehicle in the vicinity of Central Village, along Mandela Highway, but it picked up speed. The security response team then called for back-up, and proceeded to chase the truck.

As the driver of the truck attempted to elude the Guardsman team near the Dunrobin Primary School along Dunrobin Avenue, he slammed into the backup vehicle which was travelling in the opposite direction.

The injured guards were treated at hospital and released.

After badly damaging the vehicle, the truck made its way to Shortwood Road with the Guardsman team that had called for backup in hot pursuit.

As the vehicles passed the intersection of Shortwood and Grants Pen roads, a member of the security team shot the tyres of the truck, after which the hijackers jumped from the moving vehicle just before it crashed into a wall next to an open lot. A raging gun battle followed that lasted approximately 20 seconds.

“The man dem fire shot pon we, you know,” exclaimed the security guard. “[But] I can’t say how many shots were fired.”

A police officer who was in the area when the shooting started said several shots were fired in quick successions.

Panicstricken school children and adults waiting at the number 49 bus stop had to run into nearby yards for cover.

“About 6 o’clock this morning I heard a barrage of shots and saw people running into my yard. There were about three schoolers in the group,” one resident told the Observer.

“They were shocked and frightened. It was frightening.”

At 8:40 am police were still combing through the open lot looking for spent shells, while the onlookers who remained at the scene stood on the opposite side of the road watching the lawmen.

The Lascelles driver managed to free himself, and reported the matter to the Old Harbour Police Station. Up to press time yesterday the police were still searching for the hijackers.