GROSSMOND, St Elizabeth — Police here say they will be relentless in their pursuit of armed criminals following Friday’s fatal shooting of an alleged gunman and manhunt for his two cronies.

Head of the St Elizabeth police Deputy Superintendent Coleridge Minto said about midday three men engaged the police in a shoot-out during an intelligence-led operation in Grossmond district in the Braes River area.

“On the approach of the lawmen at this premises, three men fired at the police. The men ran in separate directions in the bushes. The police returned fire. One man was hit and was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead,” Minto said while pointing out that the police were searching the area up to late Friday for the other two suspects.

“We are also searching for illegal weapons. One firearm has so far been recovered. We believe that other firearms are in this area and so we [are using] the K9 Division to provide support,” he added.

Minto sought to reassure citizens that the St Elizabeth police are pursuing criminals.

“We want to assure the residents of this community that the police will continue our efforts to rid our communities of illegal firearms and the criminals that are terrorising our citizens,” he said.

“It is believed that these men are responsible for a number of armed robberies across the parish and so we will be conducting further investigations. Another suspect has been held in this operation and he will be taken to the Black River CIB for further processing,” added Minto.

He pointed out that the police seized two firearms in St Elizabeth on Friday.

Earlier, about 4:00 am, a schoolgirl and a man were arrested after a firearm was found in a toilet in Brinkley district near Junction.

“During the search of a premises a .44 Smith and Wesson magnum was found inside the toilet tank along with one live round. Two persons were arrested
— a male and a female. The female being a teenager, [a] student of a prominent high school. Both were taken into custody and will be further processed,” said Minto.

He said lottery scamming paraphernalia was also found at the location.

“We found material that suggested that there is some amount of scamming and so our detectives will continue this investigation to determine the level of involvement of these persons,” said Minto.