10 shot, 3 fatally, during ‘wild west’ gunfire in Montego Bay, October 7, 2021

Marauding gunmen shot 10 persons, killing three during a running illegal gun battle in broad daylight in Montego Bay, St James on Wednesday evening that sent pedestrians and motorists scampering for cover.

Seven bystanders were shot and injured, and were later reportedly admitted to or otherwise treated at the Cornwall Regional Hospital.

The identities of the deceased men have not yet been ascertained.

The Corporate Communications Unit (CCU), the police’s information arm, confirmed the incident which is said to have happened sometime after 2 pm.

According to reports, terrified pedestrians and motorists dived for cover after gunshots rang out during a vehicle chase involving  four men and a woman travelling in a Mark X motorcar and  men, armed with high-powered weapons, travelling in a white Toyota Corolla motorcar.

The chase reportedly began in the vicinity of Clock Towers along Upper Barnett Street, where the gunmen initially opened fire. The vehicles raced through the streets with wild gunfire on display, and continued until the driver of the Mark X lost control of the vehicle, which into a taxi on McCathy Street, then into a wall outside a supermarket at the intersection of Hart and McCatty Streets.

The gunmen travelling in the Toyota Corolla reportedly alighted from their vehicle and sprayed the Mark X with bullets from high-powered weapons, then sped away from the scene.

Videos which emerged on social media showed that two of the men in the Mark X appeared to have died on the spot, while the police were seen ferrying two others to the hospital, one of whom later died.

Eventually, the police confirmed that seven other persons, mainly pedestrians and vendors, had also been shot during the incident.