MANDEVILLE, Manchester — A woman living at the Caledonia Road apartment complex here, which was the scene of a four-hour stand-off between the security forces and her armed neighbour, cowered in a corner of her bathroom as bullets flew from high-powered weapons on Tuesday.

“I was in a corner of my bathroom… Me did a shake. I was nervous. You know when you are going through something like that you nuh hungry. You nuh get hungry and thirsty. It was very scary. Right now I am shaken up. I didn’t eat anything afterwards,” she told the Jamaica Observer Tuesday afternoon, hours after the stand-off.

The woman was among scores of residents of the complex, including young children, who sought cover during the dramatic exchange of gunfire between the security forces and their neighbour, who they identified as Dave, otherwise called Brown Man.

The woman, who asked not to be named, said she knew Dave personally. He had not been officially identified up to press time.

“He didn’t have a lot of friends. He was a person who kept to himself. Him just go work and come in. He never usually cause no bag a problems, so it is just shocking. I don’t know what Dave woke up with this morning or what happened yesterday, what caused him to get to that extent today, but that is not the Dave that I know. We are just really hurt. People are going to say a lot of things, but…,” she said, ending abruptly.

“Everybody has a picture going around that looks like a mugshot, like he was a bad person, but he was not like that,” she added.

A highly placed police officer said Tuesday’s sequence of events started shortly after 7:00 am when the armed suspect got into an altercation with another man, reportedly over the price of eggs. Police theorise that the suspect then shot the man in his upper body.

When asked about a motive behind the initial shooting, assistant commissioner of police in charge of Area Three Calvin Allen confirmed that there was an argument between the men.

“We are learning that the situation started from a simple quarrel, and it is from there that he decided to take the action that he did, and which led to the situation that unfolded throughout today,” he said.

The injured man, who police identified as Adrian Bernard, reportedly drove a Toyota Corolla motor car along Caledonia Road after he was shot, before crashing into the back of a Toyota Prado.

“It started with a traffic accident along the Caledonia main road. The traffic officers responded. However, [as] soon as [an] officer got to the scene he quickly realised that the driver of that vehicle was suffering from gunshot wounds. He was rushed to hospital and he eventually succumbed,” Allen said.

“Our antennas went up right away, high and wide, and it led to our operational response in terms of our investigations. This led us to Caledonia Road where we experienced over four hours of stand-off from a barrage of gunshots being fired at the police from this particular address,” he added.

The suspect reportedly fired at the security forces from a ground floor apartment at the front of the complex, action that was streamed live by Jamaicans on various social media platforms. Two armoured vehicles and a truck had to be used to breach the premises and remove a grille during the security forces’ entry.

ACP Allen said the police had to call in for support from other security force groups ,including the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s (JCF) Specialised Operations, Counter- Terrorism and Organised Crime Investigation Branch, Operation Support Team, Area Fugitive Apprehension Team, and the military.

“The police were very persistent in trying to get this individual to surrender. However, all those efforts failed. The building was subsequently breached and the joint effort between the JCF and our counterparts at the military led to them entering the building, conducting the search, and [finding] the suspect injured. He was taken to hospital and we learned that he eventually succumbed to his injuries,” he said.

A high-powered rifle and hundreds of assorted rounds of ammunition were seized by the police following the stand-off.

“A multi-calibre Omni hybrid rifle, capable of firing all different sorts of ammunition was [seized], also one Beretta pistol with an extended magazine. We are still counting, but so far over 450 assorted rounds were taken from the premises,” said Allen.

During the shoot-out two police pickups were damaged by bullets, and a policeman’s hand was cut by shattered glass from one of the vehicles.

Allen lauded the security forces for the “tremendous work” led by Manchester commander Superintendent Carey Duncan.

“[The team] was supported by the Area Three operations officer acting Senior Superintendent White and the coordination of the teams from Area Three and the teams from Kingston led to us displaying JCF’s high standard of professionalism and response in breaching that building and in making that situation return to some level of normalcy,” he said.

Allen said the police also utilised drones for an aerial view.

When asked about police’s intelligence on the suspect, Allen said the man had been deported from Canada.

“We are still following some information that has come to light, one of which is that he was deported,” said Allen.

The suspect’s neighbour also told the Observer that the incident took many people by surprise.

“He was a good friend. We never expect it. We never knew he had this capability or anything like that; it was totally different. He lived there for over nine years,” she said.

Up to late afternoon, personnel from the Independent Commission of Investigations and detectives were processing the scene.

The mangled car involved in the crash on Caledonia Road in Mandeville on Tuesday. Kasey Williams

The scene of the crash on Caledonia Road in Mandeville. (Kasey Williams)

A marked police service vehicle’s back glass damaged by bullets. Kasey Williams

Police personnel lay flat on the roadway outside the Caledonia Road apartment complex on Tuesday. Kasey Williams

A crowd of onlookers gather metres away from the shooting scene. Kasey Williams

Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of Area Three Calvin Allen speaking with journalists on Tuesday. He is flanked by Manchester police commander Superintendent Carey Duncan (right) and acting Senior Superintendent David White.. Kasey Williams

The front view of the apartment where the armed suspect was reportedly firing from a high-powered weapon. Kasey Williams

Another angle of the apartment complex where the armed suspect was reportedly firing from a high powered weapon. Kasey Williams

An undated photo of murder victim Adrian Bernard. Kasey Williams

Head of the Manchester police Superintendent Carey Duncan (second right) in conversation with operations officer Deputy Superintendent Lohas Daniels and Inspector Simon McCormack, sub-officer in charge of the Mandeville police station.Kasey Williams

An undated photo of murder and shooting suspect identified so far only as Dave, otherwise called “Brown Man”. Kasey Williams

Members of the police’s Specialised Operations moving towards the Caledonia Road apartment on Tuesday. Kasey Williams

An unmarked service vehicle’s back and side glass damaged by bullets. Kasey Williams