ST JAMES, Jamaica — Two men were shot dead by police in separate alleged armed confrontations on Monday, adding to Jamaica’s mounting toll of fatal security-force encounters.

The first shooting occurred shortly after daybreak in Spanish Town, St Catherine, where an unidentified man was killed during a police operation in the Long Lane area of March Pen Road.

According to police, lawmen were conducting a cordon-and-search operation at about 8:15 am when they approached a premises and saw a man standing in the doorway.

The man allegedly retreated inside as the police team advanced.

The police said they identified themselves before making a tactical approach to the building. The man allegedly emerged moments later and pointed a firearm at the police, prompting what the lawmen described as “defensive action”.

He was reportedly shot and collapsed.

Police said a Patriot 9mm pistol, fitted with a magazine containing five 9mm cartridges, was recovered from his possession.

The wounded man was taken to Spanish Town General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

His identity remained unknown up to Monday evening.

“We are still waiting on relatives to come and identify the body,” a representative of the Constabulary Communications Network, the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s public-information arm, told Observer Online.

The Independent Commission of Investigations (Indecom) has opened an investigation into the shooting.

Hours later, another alleged confrontation ended in a fatality in Junction, St Elizabeth.

Jahmain Brown, otherwise called “Dada”, of Chocolate Hill in the parish, was shot during an encounter with police at about 10:00 pm.

Police reported recovering a firearm containing three cartridges following the incident.

Both shootings were reported to the Independent Commission of Investigation (Indecom) and the Inspectorate and Professional Standards Oversight Bureau.

The deaths come as fatal encounters involving members of the security forces continue to attract public and institutional scrutiny.

Figures available in late August indicate that between 188 and 191 people have been fatally shot by security-force members since the start of 2026.

Investigations into both shootings are continuing.

— Claude Mills