They were not necessarily minding their own business, as many Jamaicans seem to do when criminal activities are taking place.

But the brave conduct of security guards employed by KingAlarm security company led to the seizure of two guns, the arrest of an alleged robber, the recovery of a television set, and might have saved the lives of five Jamaicans at a time when they could have, as the Jamaican saying goes, turned a blind eye.

It all happened last Friday in the upscale neighbourhood of Trafalgar Park on the outskirts of New Kingston when the KingAlarm duo responded in movie-like fashion to the challenges of a household, which, ironically, had cancelled the security arrangement that it had with KingAlarm shortly before — for reasons still unclear.

The police, while confirming the incident, declined to provide additional details to the Jamaica Observer.

Information reaching the Sunday Observer stated that around 5:20 am a patrol team from the security company, properly named KingAlarm Systems Ltd, was driving in the area when the scream of someone seemingly in distress was heard by the private security personnel. They responded promptly.

The information further suggested that the KingAlarm team, which was driving through the community en route to another engagement, made a U-turn in a bid to find out what was happening. They stopped at a gate and before they could emerge from the vehicle they were fired on, reportedly by men who were trying to get into a car parked in the vicinity.

The guards took evasive action and eventually fired back, while the car sped away from the scene, leaving two men who were inside robbing the household to fend for themselves on foot.

One of the men was held, but the other escaped. In his rush to flee the scene, the man who escaped ridded himself of the extra weight of the television set.

When contacted, a senior member of the KingAlarm team, who opted to remain anonymous, confirmed the incident and praised “one of our armed response teams who demonstrated professionalism while an armed robbery was in progress, which the team helped to foil”.

“They heard a scream coming from a direction when they were passing and a vehicle was parked on the outside. So they stopped and made a U-turn to investigate what they had heard and then they came under gun fire from the vehicle, [where they saw] two men running, trying to get into the vehicle,” the source stated.

“Basically, the vehicle appears to have been a getaway car. The team returned the fire and the two men were unable to get into the getaway car so they were left. They ran and our people apprehended one of them and recovered two firearms along with a flat-screen TV,” the source further stated.

“From our own preliminary internal investigations, our personnel acted professionally and, having been fired upon, our officers displayed an extraordinary act of courage in confronting the perpetrators and followed their Use of Force Standing Orders throughout. We are working with the Jamaica Constabulary Force and assisting them where possible in their investigations,” the KingAlarm official stated.

Among the five people in the house was an elderly woman who had to get medical attention after the dust had cleared. Another member of the household, a man, was also treated for cuts to his neck,” the Sunday Observer was told.