Four persons were shot and killed in Kingston yesterday as gunshots rang out across the city.

Two of the men were killed in the western Kingston area and the others in nearby Trench Town.

Police have claimed responsibility for one of the deaths in western Kingston, which was the scene of a major operation, but said they have to wait for forensic experts to determine who killed a man who was hit in a cross-fire.

Sergeant Jubert Llewelyn of the Constabulary Communication Network said that police were on foot patrol in a section of Denham Town when they came under fire from gunmen. The police returned the fire and a man was hit and a 9mm pistol reportedly taken from him.

Sgt. Llewelyn said that shortly afterwards, the men re-grouped and again challenged the police. Another man was shot and killed.

A close watch

According to the police, because of the intensity of the gunfight in the Denham Town and Tivoli Gardens area, police who were on duty in Trench Town, went to offer support and this depleted their presence there. This reportedly allowed men from another area to invade the community and shoot several persons.

Delroy Hewitt, the superintendent in charge of the Kingston West police division said police are keeping a close watch on the situation in both communities.

In downtown Kingston, parents and guardians hurriedly tried to get school children home while other adults watched curiously from various points inside western Kingston communities as the sound of gunfire echoed.

Debris was used to block the roads in various parts of these communities and in some places fire blazed in the street.

At least two of these fires have been blamed on the police, one being a parked motorbike which the residents said police fired on causing it to explode.

The residents say that the police attacks were politically motivated.