Just under six months after his release from prison and four months after being shot and injured by gunmen in Bull Bay, St Andrew, along with three other people, gangster Christopher “Dog Paw” Linton was shot dead by police yesterday afternoon in what the cops said was a gun battle.

A woman, who was travelling with Linton at the time of the shooting on John Golding Road in Elletson Flats, St Andrew, was shot and injured and is currently in hospital. Jamaica Observer sources say she is an insurance agent.

A motor vehicle in which Linton and the woman were travelling remained within 100 meters of the Irvine Hall gate to The University of the West Indies, Mona, Campus as cops processed the scene and diverted people travelling to Papine or to August Town and other communities.

Last night, police and soldiers increased their presence in August Town, a community frequented by Dog Paw. All vehicles going in and out of the troubled community were being checked.

The Independent Commission of Investigations is probing the incident.

An official statement from Senior Superintendent of Police Stephanie Lindsay, head of the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s Corporate Communications Unit, said that the shooting occurred around 2:00 pm and that Linton was shot after he initiated a shoot-out with the cops.

People who had reason to linger near a bus stop at The UWI’s Irvine Hall gate told the Observer that they had heard the explosions. They said cops were quick to cordon off the area and were tight-lipped about the specifics of what had occurred. They said they were startled to learn that the dead man was Linton.

“Me never know seh a Dog Paw. Dat mean di place a go get violent den,” said one man who gasped in surprise on learning that Linton had been killed.

“All I remember were terrible sounds, bang, bang, bang. You could hear the shot dem connect and mi start wonder if somebody dead. After the shooting, the police come right away and start yellow-tape the place,” he added.

The Observer visited Tavern, which is said to be Linton’s home community. The general mood and comments from residents, many fearing to mention the name Dog Paw, even in his death, indicated tension in the area.

“Sshh! We don’t call his name too loud up here, enuh, because we nuh know who a listen. What I can tell you is that the community is tense and a bare innocent people a dead up here, so any card coulda play,” said one woman.

Linton, who was once named as Jamaica’s most wanted man, was captured during a major security forces operation, without incident, in a house with two women in Elletson Flats. He was being sought for crimes such as the slaying of three members of a family in Bedward Gardens, St Andrew.

According to the police, Linton led a group of close to 40 gunmen who sprayed a house with bullets for several minutes before setting it on fire.

Linton and a co-accused, Micah Allen were both convicted in the High Court division of the Gun Court in 2013 for shooting at two police officers who were travelling in a service vehicle along Tavern Drive, St Andrew, in April 2010.

However, in April this year, the Court of Appeal ruled that the evidence against both Linton and Allen regarding their identification was unreliable. The conviction was quashed, their 13-year sentence set aside, and a verdict of acquittal was entered. They were ordered released from custody, triggering jitters in August Town and surrounding communities.

In June, Linton was hospitalised after being shot by gunmen in the Cane River area of Bull Bay, St Andrew.