Armed thugs standing up to cops in MoBay

Western Bureau:

The police in St James are now said to be facing a worrisome situation as marauding gunmen are reportedly standing up to them and engaging them in gunfights on the streets of the western parish.

The revelation came in the aftermath of an incident in Glendevon on Tuesday morning in which two men reportedly stood their ground and engaged the police in a gunfight. One was shot and injured and the other was held. Two guns were reportedly seized in the incident.

"These men are cold and seem to place very little value on their lives. They are willing to stand their ground and trade bullets with the police," the lawman, who asked not to be identified, told The Gleaner. "The streets are not as safe as those who want to spare the tourists from the bad news are saying,"

In the incident in question, the police were reportedly on a routine patrol along Coke Road in Glendevon when loud music drew their attention to a particular premises. On approaching the location, the lawmen were reportedly fired on by the two men, who, the police said, held their ground for a protracted period.

When the shooting ended, the police reportedly found a 23-year-old student suffering from bullet wounds. When he was searched, a Glock pistol with four live rounds was taken from him. The other man, a 25-year-old chef, was reportedly found with a Taurus pistol with 12 live rounds.

"The injured man is in the hospital under police guard and the other one is in the lock-up. We are not releasing the names as it might compromise additional investigations that we are carrying out," the policeman said.

Residents believe alleged gunmen should have been killed

The decision by the police to apprehend the men was scoffed at by some residents, who felt that they should have been killed.

"When de police hold bad man with gun, dem fe dead," a resident told The Gleaner. "Yu si how the people dem a Valley Height deal with the 'shotta bwoy' wha dem [hold] Saturday night? Dem chop off dat head ... jungle justice."

In the Valley Heights incident, a group of gunmen invaded the community and murdered a resident, identified as 29-year-old Gary Dickson. While retreating, one of the gunmen was cornered by residents who beheaded him. Thugs have murdered 185 persons in St James since the start of the year. A record 268 persons were killed last year.