Police fatally shoot suspected major criminal in Old Harbour
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A man suspected to be a major criminal, identified by the police as Shane Clarke, otherwise called ‘Giant’, was fatally shot during an alleged exchange of gunfire with the police in Old Harbour, St Catherine, on Tuesday evening.
The incident occurred about 6:45 pm along Bowers Drive, in the Colbeck area.
According to the police, they received information that men travelling in a white Mercedes-Benz GLE motor car, registered 4004 MD, were heading to Kingston to collect firearms before travelling to Old Harbour.
The police said they subsequently located the vehicle along Bowers Drive and signalled the occupant to stop.
However, the occupant allegedly opened fire at the police before speeding away. The police pursued the vehicle, which stopped a short distance away.
The police report that when the officers exited their service vehicle and approached the Mercedes-Benz, the occupant again opened fire. The officers reportedly returned fire in what the police described as an act of self-defence.
The occupant then drove off and crashed into an embankment, causing the vehicle to overturn.
He was taken to May Pen Hospital in Clarendon by the police, where he was pronounced dead.
Two firearms were reportedly recovered from the scene: a black-and-silver .380 pistol, fitted with a magazine containing one round, and a black AK-47 rifle fitted with an empty magazine. The serial numbers on both weapons were reportedly not visible.
No member of the police team was injured during the incident.
Clarke, who was reportedly 27 years old and from Berrydale, Porus, Manchester, has been linked by police sources to several major crimes, including robberies involving Beryllium security teams.
The scene was processed by investigators, and the investigation is continuing.
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