Road rage triggers dramatic MoBay gunfight
Published:Wednesday | July 20, 2022 | 12:13 AM
A tour bus operator and a firefighter are nursing gunshot wounds after a traffic dispute sparked a dramatic gunfight in downtown Montego Bay.
Both men are reportedly licensed firearm holders.
Reports by the Freeport police are that about 10:30 a.m., the firefighter was driving a white BMW motor car in the vicinity of Sam Sharpe Square in downtown Montego Bay when his vehicle was reportedly hit by a bus driver.
Both men parked their vehicles in the middle of the roadway and were engaged in a verbal conflict, resulting in a major traffic jam.
They were then approached by an elderly JUTA tour operator who demanded that they clear the roadway.
That intervention resulted in another heated confrontation.
Both motorists are alleged to have got into a physical confrontation, with the tour operator allegedly pulling his firearm and opening fire, hitting the firefighter in his foot.
The injured firefighter reportedly drew his weapon and shot the busman in the hand.
The gunplay caused frenetic scenes in the heart of the St James capital, with commuters scampering to safety as the shoot-out continued.
Both men were relieved of their firearms by the police and were transported to Cornwall Regional Hospital, where they were admitted.
Acting commander of the St James police, Superintendent Carlos Russell, said on Tuesday that no charges had been laid and that an investigation was still under way.
An eyewitness said that he was unnerved by the gunfight.
“Mi say, mi nearly wet up myself. Everybody a try fi calm down the two man dem who meet inna the accident, but after the next man drive up and another argument start, a deh so all hell break loose,” the vendor in Sam Sharpe Square told The Gleaner.
“... Even after dem shoot each other, dem still a fire pure shot all over the place.