Gunmen attack soldiers in Denham Town, woman arrested for resisting search of premises
Published:Tuesday | May 10, 2022 | 2:38 PM
The Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) says some of its members were fired on by gunmen in Denham Town in western Kingston this morning.
A gun was recovered and a woman who was obstructing a subsequent search operation was arrested by the police, the army said in a statement this afternoon.
The JDF says about 12:50 a.m., its Denham Town Forward Operating Base received a call that a mobile team came under attack in the vicinity of Race Course and Blount Street.
During a search, an unidentified man was observed sitting on a bench and was ordered not to move, the statement said.
The man reportedly stood, pulled a gun and fired at the soldiers who shot back.
The man escaped, reportedly leaving behind a 9mm Smith and Wesson pistol with one live round.
The JDF said soldiers who subsequently conducted searches in the area were met with resistance from a woman when they tried to search a premises.
She has since been arrested by the police.
The shooting incident comes amid heightened tension in the Denham Town area between residents and the soldiers who have been accused of using excessive force to enforcing a Zone of Special Operations (ZOSO).
Last month, the residents demonstrated outside the JDF's Up Park Camp headquarters over the controversial fatal shooting of 32-year-old Horaine Glenn by a JDF member on April 16.
On Friday, Prime Minister Andrew Holness declared that he would not discontinue the ZOSO and surrender the Denham Town community to criminals.
"So, if there is anyone who is deliberately trying to plan, coordinate, stoke [confrontations] that will not work. We're not going to allow criminals to dictate our security response," he said.
ZOSO is an anti-crime measure that includes a specific role for social services.
Denham Town is located in a police division wracked by deadly gang violence.
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