Man fatally shot by cops after shooting businessman & his dog

A 63-year-old businessman allegedly shot another businessman, wounded a Rottweiler and then opened fire on police from inside a container before he was shot dead by responding officers in Harbour View, Kingston, yesterday.

Dead is Paul Andrew Thompson, otherwise called ‘Pablo’, of Richards Avenue, Kingston 6.

Police reports are that about 3:40 p.m., Thompson was involved in a dispute with a 76-year-old businessman at Danny Marina in Harbour View, where the two men operated from a shared boatyard.

The dispute allegedly erupted into gunfire when Thompson pulled a firearm and shot the other businessman twice, hitting him in the chest and right hand.

The injured businessman was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was admitted in serious condition.

Police were alerted and quickly responded to the boatyard.

But the violence allegedly continued.

While officers were conducting checks of the premises, Thompson reportedly opened fire on them from inside a container.

The officers returned fire, hitting Thompson.

A Springfield Hellcat 9mm pistol containing two live rounds was recovered at the scene.

Thompson was taken to the Kingston Public Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The drama did not end there.

Investigators reportedly found a Rottweiler suffering from what appeared to be gunshot wounds at the premises.

The injured businessman reportedly told witnesses that Thompson had also shot the dog during the incident.

Troubled past

Thompson's death has also brought renewed attention to his lengthy criminal history in Jamaica and the United States.

Police records indicate that he had previously been convicted of drug and firearm-related offences in the US.

In 1991, Thompson was arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York for marijuana trafficking. He was fined US$500, had his permanent resident status revoked and was deported to Jamaica.

In December 1997, he was arrested and charged with murder in the United States. He was later acquitted of that charge but pleaded guilty to a weapons possession offence and was released from prison in September 2002.

He also faced drug-trafficking charges in Arizona relating to the transportation of marijuana and was subsequently sentenced.

In Jamaica, Thompson previously held a Firearm User's Licence, but it was revoked following his overseas criminal conviction. He surrendered his licensed firearm to the St Catherine South Police in December 2006.

Police records further indicate that Thompson was convicted in the US for possessing an American passport under an assumed identity. He was sentenced to 15 months in prison and deported to Jamaica in October 2006.

The Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) is probing the circumstances surrounding the fatal police shooting.

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