Constable Marlon Samms’ colleagues had hoped Saturday night that he would have survived the gunman’s bullet that hit him in the head as he and his partner confronted three criminals who had staged a robbery in Linstead, St Catherine that evening.

Early this morning, their hope turned into despair as Constable Samms succumbed to the injury, leaving the constabulary with the gut-wrenching task of burying a fifth cop since January and the third in recent weeks.

Yesterday, National Security Minister Dwight Nelson and Corporal Raymond Wilson, chairman of the Police Federation, praised Samms for the courage he displayed in trying to foil the robbery.

Jamaicans, Minister Nelson said, should “recognise that Constable Samms’ unhesitating bravery in confronting brazen gunmen who are bent on unleashing terror on civil society demonstrated what the nation’s policeman have been facing in the execution of their duties – that of putting their lives on the line at all times”.

Added Nelson: “Constable Samms was a young policeman who lost his life in this untimely manner, while attempting to save the lives and property of other Jamaicans who are being held at ransom by cruel men.”

Corporal Wilson, in his statement, said: “We are lauding Constable Marlon Samms and all other policemen who have lost their lives in the line of duty as heroes and we urge the state to recognise him for his bravery.”

Police say that Samms and a colleague, who were assigned to the Linstead Police Station, responded to a call at about 7:45 pm that the gunmen had robbed a betting shop in the town Saturday evening.

When they got to the scene, they confronted the gunmen who engaged them in a firefight. When the shooting ended, one of the gunmen – 21-year-old Kemoy Colbourne of Banbury district, Linstead – lay dead. Police say a .38 Inter Arms revolver – serial number F353314 with six spent shells – was taken from him.

The other gunmen escaped, but police suspect one of them was injured.

Constable Samms, who was shot in the head by one of the hoodlums, was transported by road to the Kingston Public Hospital, but the efforts made there to save his life failed.

Yesterday, Minister Nelson extended condolences to Constable Samms’ family and his colleagues who, he said, have been cruelly robbed by his untimely death. He encouraged them to look to the Lord for strength during their time of grief.

Corporal Wilson said that the family of the Jamaica Constabulary Force was deeply saddened and was hurting as they were just making preparations to bury another colleague and had hardly got over the distress of the recent burial of two other cops – Constable Rodney Thompson, who lost his life in a service vehicle accident and Constable Metro Tulloch, who was killed by gunmen.

“They were laid to rest last Saturday and Sunday respectively and now Constable Marlon Samms, who responded to the call and cry of the people of Linstead who were being held under siege by gunmen from the very same community and was shot and killed,” Wilson lamented.

He said that it was clear that the gunmen are not afraid to point their firearms at the police and shoot.

“Jamaicans must understand that if they can do that to the police, then they as ordinary citizens are at a greater risk,” Corporal Wilson said.

In recent months, the town of Linstead has become a haven for criminals who have been unleashing terror on law-abiding citizens.

“Linstead was once a peaceful place, but we have seen an increase in criminality here,” a cop from the St Catherine North Police Division told the Observer yesterday. “However, this incident has only served to strengthen our resolve to bring these dangerous criminals to book.

Last year, 10 policemen were cut down by gunmen’s bullets.