Police kill two men, recover gun after Mandeville road interception on Manchester Road

Police in Mandeville shot and killed two men on Friday during what preliminary accounts describe as a confrontation on Manchester Road close to Will Gate. Officers also recovered a firearm at the scene.

According to early information, the encounter began around 8:00 p.m., when police stopped a Toyota on Manchester Road. Reports indicate that gunfire broke out after the vehicle was intercepted.

People in the area said they heard shots and many ran or took cover as the incident unfolded along the busy thoroughfare.

The episode sits against a wider pattern in which killings in Manchester parish have climbed sharply this year, with local murder counts said to be up by about 180% so far, even as homicide figures across Jamaica have moved downward overall.