MORANT BAY, St Thomas – A man, said to be of unsound mind, was shot and killed by a Beryllium security guard here in Morant Bay on Wednesday afternoon after he approached two of them with what later turned out to be an imitation firearm.

The incident occurred minutes after 2:00 pm at the intersection of West Street and South Street in the vicinity of the Morant Bay Market.

According to Superintendent Allison Byfield of the Morant Bay Police Division, two Beryllium guards had finished stocking a Scotiabank automated banking machine (ABM) when they were approached by a man while walking towards their vehicle.

“They warned him not to come closer. He stepped to them and raised an object in his hand that resembled a firearm. As a result, one of the guards fired a shot in his direction. He was injured and taken to the Princess Margaret Hospital,” said the police superintendent.

The superintendent confirmed that the man was carrying an imitation firearm.

The deceased, known as Chi Ching Ching or Chu Chu, was taken to the Princess Margaret Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Guards employed to Beryllium have been held up and robbed of millions of dollars in recent incidents.