ISLINGTON, St Mary — Sceptical of the police’s report of a shoot-out, residents staged a peaceful protest in front of Islington Police Station in St Mary on Monday morning as they mourned the death of Roshane “Spooky” Lovelace.

The 25-year-old unemployed man who lived at Lyndon Housing Scheme in Islington was fatally shot early last Saturday morning. Residents have questioned the police’s account that Lovelace traded bullets with them and have questioned why no weapon was found on him or others in custody in connection with the incident. One resident who only identified himself as “Fireman” spoke for the other protestors. He said they were puzzled why two men who were locked up after the incident did not run.

“How a shootout and dem don’t find any [gun] pon the man dem. Why the other two weh deh lock up neva run? We need justice because we know the youth was not a gunman or bad man. This community is one of the most peaceful communities in St Mary. We need answers,” he said angrily.

Inspector in charge of Islington Police Station Karen Budan has urged citizens to remain calm while the necessary investigation is carried out.

According to the police, members of the Operation Support Team were travelling from Annotto Bay to Port Maria early Saturday morning when, on reaching the Whitehall main road, they saw a silver Toyota Axio motor car speeding in the opposite direction. They said they signalled to the driver to stop but he disobeyed.

The police said a chase ensued and the Axio crashed in a yard, three men exited and started shooting and cops returned fire. When the shooting ended, according to the police, one of the gunmen was seen with gunshot wounds to his side and back. He was taken to the Annotto Bay Hospital where he was pronounced dead. He was later identified as Lovelace. The police say they are on the hunt for two gunmen who escaped while two others who were still in the car were taken into custody. They also said 10 spent casings and a mobile phone were recovered from the scene.

The Area 2 Technical Services Division and Independent Commission of Investigation are investigating.