A tense calm prevailed in the community of March Pen Road in St Catherine yesterday, following Tuesday evening’s stand-off between residents and the police who shot and killed a man, said to be one of the area’s most wanted.

Yesterday, the Constabulary Communication Network (CCN) liaison officer for St Catherine North, Constable Kamika Clarke, told the Observer that the police would be maintaining a heavy presence along March Pen Road to prevent any further hostilities.

The police alleged that the man, Michael ‘Sound Boy’ Hinds, was shot and killed after he and two accomplices engaged members of a police unit on patrol in the area in a gunfight at approximately 4:30 pm Tuesday.

They said Hinds, who was shot and injured, subsequently fell in a nearby canal in the community.

However, attempts to retrieve the injured man from the canal, the police alleged, became difficult after they came under heavy gunfire from Hinds’ cronies.

They, however, managed to remove him and transport him to the Spanish Town Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Meanwhile, later attempts to recover the firearm, which was allegedly used by Hinds, was prevented by residents in the community who pelted the police team with stones and bottles. The police said they were also fired upon by Hinds’ cronies.

The situation eventually prompted the police to abandon their search for the weapon and make a hasty retreat from the scene.

Hinds is alleged to have been a member of the notorious 76 Lane Gang operating in the March Pen area, and was wanted in connection with several shootings in the St Catherine North and South Police divisions.

Meanwhile, a similar atmosphere obtained in the community of Mountain View in Kingston yesterday as police managed to keep the community quiet following a running gun battle between police officers and gunmen along the reputed People’s National Party enclave of Saunders Avenue, off Mountain View Avenue a day earlier.

Up until late yesterday, Acting Deputy Superintendent Winston Lawrence of the Mountain View Police Station said no incidence of violence was reported to the police.

Lawrence also told the Observer that the police were maintaining a heavy presence in nearby Saunders Avenue and Jacques Road.

On Tuesday, members of a joint military/police patrol team surprised a group of armed men along Saunders Avenue and a gun battle quickly ensued. After the shooting subsided, the police said they found a Glock 19 pistol and 34 rounds of ammunition while one man was taken into police custody for questioning.