A 25-year-old policeman was shot dead and another shot and injured by gunmen in the Duhaney Park area of Kingston on Friday night.
The slain lawman has been identified as Basil Black from the Hunts Bay Police Station, while the name of the injured policeman, a corporal, also from the same station has not been ascertained. The Con-stabulary Communication Net-work (CCN) Metro Officer reported that about 11:45 p.m., Constable Black and a colleague responded to a report from Police Control that gunshots were being fired in the vicinity of the Duhaney Park health clinic.
On reaching the Milton and Brooke avenues intersection, two gunmen armed with M16 rifles opened fire, hitting Constable Black in the head and other parts of his body. The Corporal, who was the driver of the vehicle also received gunshot wounds.
The injured lawmen were taken to hospital where Constable Black was pronounced dead and his colleague admitted. He was said to be in serious but stable conditions.
The Hunts Bay police who are investigating say that members of a police party on the way to assist their fallen comrade, came under gunfire on Mission Road, off Waltham Park Road. A policeman in the vehicle was injured when it crashed during the incident. He was taken to hospital for treatment.
In reaction, National Security Minister Dr. Peter Phillips, yesterday extended condolences to the family, colleagues and friends of Constable Black, in a statement from his office.
Dr. Phillips said the attack on the policemen provided further evidence of the necessity for the security forces to develop the capability to respond quickly to gunmen who terrorise communities. Constable Black joined the Jamaica Constabu-lary Force on October 17, 2000 and he is the third to have died in the line of duty since the start of the year.
Meanwhile the Jamaica Labour Party's spokesman on national security, Derrick Smith, in a statement, said no stone must be left unturned in flushing out the criminals who viciously attacked the two policemen.
Mr. Smith condemned the attack and said it was nothing short of a calculated assault on law and order. He called on the policemen to scour the problematic community of Brooke Valley until the guilty men were found.
Commissioner of Police, Francis Forbes, has described the killing as a brutal and vicious act, that no law abiding citizen should condone.
The Commissioner called on members of the Force to remain strong and resolute in the face of challenging and discouraging times. He asked his men and women to remain united against the enemy of crime.
