RESIDENTS of Dillpath Crescent in Waterhouse, St Andrew, sung high praises on Thursday for members of a joint police military patrol team who surprised two gunmen on Wednesday evening, which led to one being shot and killed and the other shot and injured.

The residents told the Jamaica Observer that an attack by the two gunmen mimicked a scene from a violent movie, which saw people scampering for cover, including one woman who held on tightly to a three-month-old baby as she hid behind a stack of concrete blocks until gunfire subsided. Two male residents were shot and injured by the gunmen before the security forces intervened.

Senior Superintendent Kirk Ricketts, who heads the St Andrew South Police Division, on Thursday confirmed the incident. Ricketts said the community is plagued by gang conflicts involving relatives. The senior superintendent told the Observer that on Wednesday, just before 7:00 pm, two men went into the area and opened fire on residents. Luckily, the joint police military team heard the explosions and quickly responded to foil the attack which could have led to multiple fatalities. Police, he said, seized two firearms from the scene.

“… The men who had earlier just shot and injured two residents, on seeing the team, challenged the team, and during an ensuing gun battle, the two men were shot. One of them later succumbed to his injuries.

“Four persons in all were shot. The first two were shot by the perpetrators. The surviving perpetrator is in hospital under police guard. That area has its issues with gang conflict, but the gangs are made up of people who are related to each other. It is kind of an intra-gang conflict, but it is just that the persons at odds are related to each other,” Ricketts said.

The Observer visited the area Thursday and noticed that it was relatively calm, with only a few residents hanging out in shops and on the road. Others peered from behind their walls and gates. At the spot where the shooting took place blood on the road was covered with dirt, but there was a foul smell and swarms of flies. Several bullet holes in walls told the story of a blazing gun battle.

The woman, who was sitting on a bench while holding a three-month-old baby before gunfire erupted, said it was the grace of God why she was still alive as the action was very intense.

“When mi hear di shot dem, mi turn idiot. Mi have di baby sidung and all mi start to hear is explosion. Is a killing spree dem come pon. Dem tek di back and come over. Dem never know seh soldier deh bout, suh a buck dem buck up inna di dem and a deh suh it start. Mi affi shadow di baby when di soldier a fire after di man dem. All mi can seh is that an angel was around me. A life dem man deh come fi tek and a fi dem own gone. A God send di soldier dem because we nuh know what it would turn out to be. They were right on time.”

Another female resident recalled that the gunfire sounded to her like she was in a war zone.

“All mi know a seh mi hear gunshot, and when it done, we see man lie dung. When wi hear di gunshot dem, wi haffi hide. It sounded like war or a movie wi a watch.”

The Independent Commission of Investigations told the Observer yesterday that it was investigating the incident.