SANTA CRUZ, St Elizabeth — The St Elizabeth police are urging business operators to take greater care when moving cash to and from banks and to give thought to seeking help from the police.

This follows the shooting and injury of a clerk during a failed robbery attempt in Santa Cruz early Monday.

“We want to appeal yet again to business people that when you have to move cash do so with great care,” Deputy Superintendent of Police Lanford Salmon, who heads anti-crime operations in St Elizabeth, told the Jamaica Observer.

Salmon emphasised that the police were ready and willing to provide escort services for people carrying large sums to and from the bank “free of cost” once they are informed ahead of time.

Police say that in the incident on Monday, a clerk from a popular business place in Santa Cruz was en route to the bank when he was accosted by a gunman who shot him in the left shoulder.

The assailant then attempted in vain to grab a box with a quantity of cash and cheques. The robber then grabbed another bag said to have contained groceries.

He reportedly escaped in a Corolla motor car with the registration plate removed.

The injured clerk was admitted to hospital in stable condition. The police say investigations are continuing.