Police kill 3 in shootout

• Gang leader among the dead

Three men, including the reputed leader of the Bunkers Hill gang, were cut down in a daring daylight shootout with the police at Friendship district in Trelawny on Monday. The police also recovered two firearms.  Three other gang members escaped.

Two of the deceased have been identified as gang leader, 31-year-old Adrian Walker, otherwise called ‘Lippy’ and ‘Macca’, and 37-year-old Robert Miller, also known as ‘Ghost’ and ‘Tiler’. The third man remains unidentified.

The raging gun battle reportedly occurred shortly after 5 p.m. when the police, who were on foot patrol in the community of Friendship, came under heavy gunfire. The lawmen responded and an exchange of gunfire ensued.

When the gun battle subsided, the three men were found suffering from gunshot wounds. They were later transported to hospital where all three were pronounced dead. The police recovered two firearms and several rounds of ammunition from the scene.  The police are still searching for other members of the gang, who are said to be former members of the Ski Mask Gang which operated out of the Lilliput/Barrett Town area of St. James.

A team from the Independent Commission of Investigation, INDECOM, has since visited the scene and has launched an investigation into the incident.

Walker was wanted on a warrant for shooting with intent and wounding with intent and was the prime suspect in the murder of senior citizen Oliver Johnson in the Wakefield area on the 15^th of October this year. Allegations are that Walker approached the elder Johnson and demanded money; when his request was not met he chopped and shot Mr. Johnson who subsequently died.

Miller, in the meantime, was wanted in connection with shooting committed against the police. He was also wanted for extortion.

BEING HUNTED

Addressing a press conference yesterday Deputy Superintendent of Police in charge of Operation for the Trelawny Police, Winston Milton, said three other men, who are part of the gang who attacked the police, escaped and are aggressively being sought by the police.

“We are aggressively pursuing investigations to determine the identity of this man. We suspect that three other men who were with the gang escaped the police in this encounter. We are also pursuing investigation in this regard.”

DSP Milton says while the police are continuing their investigations and the aggressive pursuit of the men, they are imploring the gangsters to surrender.

“If they are confronted by members of the police team, we are exhorting them to put down their firearms; we rather fight you in court than on the streets,” he said.

DSP Milton says since the gang has been operating in the Bunkers Hill area they have been wreaking havoc. The area has been tense – there have been incidences of murder, shooting, extortion and recently praedial larceny.

“Their demise, though unfortunate, will see the community breathing a sigh of relief and the tension, particularly in the Bunkers Hill community, will be declining,” he concluded.

The Bunkers Hill gang has been formed by remnants of the Ski Mask Gang which operated from Barrett Town in St. James, six of whom were killed by the security forces at the St. James /Trelawny border in January 2017.