KINGSTON, Jamaica- A man is dead, and his accomplice escaped injury during an armed confrontation with law enforcement on Saturday night at the Hunts Bay police station in St Andrew.

According to Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kirk Ricketts, head of the St Andrew South Police Division, two men were spotted on the roof of the Hunts Bay lockup around 11:40 pm. Police attempted to detain the men when one of them opened fire at the officers.

“The police took necessary evasive measures, returned fire, and at the end of the melee, it was discovered that one of the two men was suffering from gunshot injuries. The other man escaped,” SSP Ricketts told Observer Online.

The superintendent stated that police believe the men were attempting to smuggle contraband into the police lockup.

“We believe that this was an attempt by these culprits to introduce contraband to the lockups. We have noticed an increased discovery of contraband within our lockups recently. We do know that we have some vulnerabilities toward the rear of the premises, and as such, we have increased our presence. Our increased patrolling of the space uncovered this attempt last night,” SSP Ricketts further explained.

A Glock pistol was recovered from the deceased man, police said.

The identities of the men have not been released.