FRIGHTENED motorists and pedestrians in Jamaica’s capital city, Kingston, yesterday afternoon took all the safety precautions they could as police, sirens blaring and lights flashing, chased a stolen Toyota Coaster bus on the busy streets.

The driver was forced to abandon the bus as police fired warning shots and cornered the vehicle in the vicinity of Calabar Mews. He and another man, who were said to be among four men who commandeered the vehicle and forced the driver to hand over the keys along Seaview Drive, a few miles away, were arrested.

“… About 3:45 pm police received information that a group of men had stolen the bus from Waterhouse and were travelling in the area,” said a senior officer from the St Andrew North Police Division.

“A police team travelling along Seaview Drive saw the bus and ordered the men to stop but the command was ignored and the driver sped off,” the police told the Jamaica Observer.

Police said that during a high-speed chase shots were fired and the men were cornered in the vicinity of Calabar Mews where two of the alleged robbers were held. The other two escaped, police said.

“It really left me traumatised,” said one resident of Calabar Mews, an apartment complex on Red Hills Road.