Mark Beckford, Sunday Gleaner Writer

Two burnt-out cars were among the debris used by angry protesters from the community of Kintyre in east St. Andrew to block roads in the community, following the death of a man at a dance early Saturday morning..

Anarchy reigned for a few hours as police and residents were in a stand-off, with the roads eventually being cleared at approximately 2:00 p.m yesterday.

Conflicting reports have been given by both police and citizens, and the Bureau of Special Investigation has subsequently commenced a probe into the incident.

According to reports from the Constabulary Communication Network's metro officer, about 12:15 Saturday morning, members of a police patrol went to Kintyre where loud music was disturbing residents.

The patrol was travelling along Clarke Street when three men were seen at the entrance to a lane. On the approach of the police, the men reportedly pulled guns and opened fire on the law enforcers. The gunfire was returned, hitting one of the men. A9mm pistol serial number 00250 with eight rounds of ammunition was seized.

Cold-blooded killing

Residents from the area, however, countered the police's account, claiming that the man was killed in cold blood. They say that the police are the only ones who fired shots.

"A two shot fire and a police fire them. See the blood de whey dem drag him from the lane inna the jeep," stated a male resident of the community.

Another resident said that the deceased was at a weekly dance held on Friday in the community, and he went to use the rest room in the lane when police approached him and shot him. The residents also claimed that the man was not armed and only had a ganja spliff (cigarette) and drinks on his person when he was shot by the police.

The dead man, who remains unidentified, is believed to be about 19 years old, of dark complexion, of slim build, and about 170.18 centimetres tall.