Five killed by police after Clarendon teacher’s suspected contract murder

Five men suspected of involvement in the killing of Clarendon teacher Rowan Williamson were shot dead by police in St. Catherine on Tuesday, after two separate confrontations that began near the Bog Walk Gorge and ended hours later in Spanish Town.

Police reports say the first exchange of gunfire started shortly before 2 p.m. at Kent Village, near the Bog Walk Gorge. Four men were killed during that incident, and two illegal firearms were reportedly recovered at the scene.

Senior Superintendent Nicholson, head of the St. Catherine North Police Division, said a policeman was also shot. The officer’s condition was described as serious but stable. He is reportedly attached to the Linstead Police Station.

A fifth man, who police say had escaped the earlier confrontation, was killed about 5:30 p.m., roughly four hours after the first shootout. Reports indicate that he fled into Angels in Spanish Town. Police later went to an area near the GC Foster College of Physical Education and Sport, where another confrontation developed. The man was shot and killed, and one firearm was allegedly seized.

Investigators have linked Tuesday’s police operation to the murder of Williamson, a 51-year-old specialist mathematics teacher assigned to Prospect Primary School in Clarendon.

Police say residents in the Prospect community reported hearing explosions about 5 a.m. When officers arrived, they found Williamson’s body inside his home with multiple gunshot wounds. He was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

A source has described Williamson’s killing as a contract murder.