Residents shocked ‘Brown Man’ battled police in shootout

Some residents of Caledonia Road, Mandeville, Manchester, are expressing surprise that one of their neighbours was involved in an intense gun battle with the police on Tuesday, and reportedly killed a man before that.

Dave Alfrancis Wilson, otherwise known as 'Brown Man', was killed in a shootout with the police at an apartment. The 54-year-old engaged a strong police contingent in a stand-off for more than four hours. The police say that earlier in the day, Wilson had a dispute with a man over the cost of an item, allegedly eggs. The police say Wilson left and returned with a rifle and opened fire at the man, who was seating in his car. That man was later identified as 31-year-old accountant Adrian Bernard of Bueno Vista Circle in Manchester. The police recovered an Omni Hybrid multi-calibre 5.56 rifle, a Beretta 9mm pistol, and more than 500 assorted rounds of ammunition inside the apartment where Wilson was killed.

When the news team visited the community yesterday, details of the incident were on the lips of almost everyone. One resident stated that he was shocked when he learnt that the 'quiet and reserved' Wilson was the one at the centre of the incident.

"Mi shock when mi hear say a Brown Man and all mi appetite gone and mi could barely drink the soup weh mi did order. Dat man live out at the apartment for roughly 17 years and mi never hear him and any man mouth meet. Him is a deportee, but him deh here long time and mi never hear a soul say him trouble dem. Him just buy him Cash Pot and ting," he said. Residents recalled how the gunshots rang out in the usually quiet scheme, before a large crowd converged close to the scene to find out the cause of the commotion.

"M a tell yuh say some shot run out dung here eno man. But people still did a go out on the road to see what a gwan. Big crowd out there and nuff people a video. Based on how mi understand tings, no bagga shot never did a come from in the apartment is more the police was firing on the building so that is why nobody never did a really worry about getting shot," a resident said. The residents also said that they did not know much about Bernard.

"We really don't know anything about him. We only learn his name when we listen to the news," one resident said, while also expressing surprise that Wilson was capable of anything criminal.

"The old saying weh say 'see mi and live with mi a two different tings' real, because no one would guess di quiet man did so dangerous," the man added.

But while some described Wilson as reserved and peaceful, others described him as being a "nuisance" and a bully.

"I wasn't surprised when I saw what was happening over his apartment because he was a nuisance and he even threatened me before," said one woman, who accused him of harming her dog because the animal barked too much.

"It was just weeks ago that I got the police involved when he poisoned the dog and I told them they needed to do something about it because this man was going to hurt somebody," she said. The woman further claimed Wilson came on her property uninvited twice.

"Our camera picked him up throwing food to the dog and another time he called my phone cursing and threatening me. He claimed he was throwing food to the dog because he thought it was hungry, but I would not go in someone's yard and feed their child without permission. People are saying he 'crashed out', but I don't believe that. He was just aggressive," she said.