In confrontation with Police a gunman shot dead in Jamaica

Kingston, Jamaica: A incident has been reported where one of two men who allegedly challenged a police party in Spanish Town, St Catherine, was shot and killed on Saturday night.

The man has not been identified yet. He was declared dead at the hospital while the other man reportedly fled the scene.

As per the police authorities report, around 11:15 p.m., more than five hours after the islandwide coronavirus curfew took effect, the now-deceased was accosted at the intersection of Martin Street and Manchester Street in the Old Capital.

He is said to have waved a gun, and the Police fired. The Police is investigating and trying to find out the identity of the man and catch the escaped one.

Jamaica is one of the usual violent nations in the Caribbean region. In the year 2020, there were approximately 46.5 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in the island nation, the highest homicide rate in – Latin America and the Caribbean that year. However, the homicide rate had improved compared to the year 2019, when 47.4 homicides were registered per 100,000 population.

The crime rate of the island country declined in the year 2018 after the year of 2017 and then again rose in the following year and till now is still getting high.

Some regions of Jamaica, especially cities such as – Kingston, Montego Bay, and the Spanish Town, witnesses high levels of crime & violence. Jamaica has/had one of the – ‘highest murder rates’ among the nations world for many years, according to the United Nations estimates. The Former Prime Minister P. J. Patterson described the situation as – a national challenge of unprecedented proportions.