Angry residents of Old Harbour Bay, St Catherine blocked sections of the roadway on Saturday to protest the killing of two men who they allege were gunned down in cold blood by the police.

Reports are that the two men, who have since been identified as 23-year-old Nigeria Bailey and 21-year old Daniel Mackenzie, were killed sometime after 1:00 pm during a confrontation with police.

The Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) has launched a probe into the incident.

In an audio release, INDECOM Commissioner Hugh Faulkner said its forensic team processed the incident scene, collected the requisite exhibits and seized the firearms involved.

He said that the protesting residents and the police have given contrasting accounts of the incident, noting that the security forces report a firearm confrontation with armed men and the recovery of two firearms following the exchange.

However, residents largely insist that the police acted unlawfully, and that the men were hardworking individuals and not criminals.

Residents were seen burning tyres and barring security personnel from entering the community.

During the protest, one woman was heard yelling, “Listen, INDECOM can come but no police can’t come through.”

One resident who spoke with Observer Online claimed that one of the young men was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“The people dem bawl. Nigeria just deh a di wrong place at the wrong time. He shoulda never go down there with Daniel. If not he would have been alive today,” said the resident.

“A Daniel them want. A him them want. Them kill off Nigeria with Daniel,” added the resident.

Superintendent Hopeton Nicholson of the St Catherine South Police Division has appealed for calm in the area and has urged the residents to exercise restraint and allow safe passage for security personnel.