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Seven injured in police, gunmen shootout in Jamaica

Xinhua, March 6, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) confirmed on Thursday that seven people including a police officer has sustained injuries in a confrontation between police and gunmen in downtown Kingston.

An officer from the Corporate Communication Unit of JCF told Xinhua the shootout took place at about 6:45 p.m. local time (2345 GMT) on Wednesday when four men armed with guns engaged a police team that was on patrol round the downtown area.

A news release from the JCF said the gunmen opened fire and triggered the confrontation. After the shooting, it was found that seven people received gunshot wounds, including a police officer, who was grazed on the foot by a bullet.

All injured persons were sent to a hospital while one who had been shot in stomach was reported to be in serious conditions.

The gunmen have escaped and a further investigation is underway, the police said.

Jamaica, whose murder rate ranks the world top 10, has been suffering from a wide spread of illegal guns for a long time. Statistics compiled by the JCF show that in the past 10 years, some 10,000 murders have been committed with guns in Jamaica. Endi