(CMR) Maypen, JAMAICA – A major robbery incident and police shootout took place yesterday morning in May Pen, Jamaica after at least three men robbed a local Chinese supermarket.
BLOW BY BLOW EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT
A blow by blow four minute audio message was obtained by Cayman Marl Road through our exclusive Jamaican connections. That person was actually an eyewitness to the robbery; as he had entered the store shortly before the gunmen. In his first hand account he describes in harrowing details the entire incident including at least 15 minutes of “sustained fire.” He went on to share how the gunmen used the owners of the shop as human shields when they exited the premises in the midst of the shootout.
He further describes that the three heavily armed robbers who first walked into the store carrying AK-47s, 12-gauge shotguns and M16 assault rifles. He also shared how the store owners resisted giving up any money. At one point there were upwards of five men. He shared:
“It's the money we come for … where the money is … we don't want that money deh .. it's the (money) chest we want.”
At one point a gunman asks a female clerk in the Chinese store if she wanted to die.
The eyewitness claims they beat up the Chinese men in the shop also but remained amazing calm during the incident. “The men them nah under no rush … done of them na panic”.
Shortly after 9:00 am the gunmen robbed a Chinese owned store in the vicinity of Guinep Tree off Main Street in the Clarendon capital. Around 9:20 am they were confronted by police officers from the May Pen Police Station.
Two police men were shot and injured during the incident. One office sustained gunshot wounds to his face and shoulder. The other was injured in the abdomen and buttocks. They are understood to be a sergeant and constable and are receiving treatment at the hospital there.
The service vehicle was also damaged. One of the get away vehicles, a white Toyota Probox, later crashed along Howard Avenue.
This morning Parliamentary representative for May Pen, Clarendon, Mike Henry, was again publicly calling for the establishment of a zone of special operations (ZOSO) or other enhanced security measures in the parish capital. Citing a slew of killings in and around the town over recent months, including four fatalities last week as well as this police shootout. Local residents have been said to also be pleading with the police to institute the ZOSO and have claimed that the criminals have more arsenal and better equipped with weapons that the police.
The May Pen police have declined to say whether they have held any of the men who were involved in the incident.
UPDATE: CLARENDON, Jamaica — The Clarendon police say they have taken three suspects into custody following the daring robbery at a supermarket in Guinep Tree, May Pen on Sunday, May 26.
The police's Corporate Communications Unit said the men were picked up during an operation in the parish about 5:30 am today Friday, May 31.
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