Cop murdered, police kill 3 in Morvant (updated)

Almost 12 hours after a police officer was murdered in Morvant, police shot and killed three men in an unrelated incident.

Police Commissioner Gary Griffith said the two incidents remain unconnected. In a telephone interview with Sunday Newsday, Griffith said while they have leads in the killing of PC Allen Moseley, the shooting deaths of three men were not linked to that crime.

Around 2.15 pm, police said officers of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) and Guard and Emergency Branch (GEB) were on patrol along Juman Drive, Second Caledonia, Morvant when they stopped a brown Nissan Tiida with three occupants.

Police claimed one of the men came out and pulled out a firearm and all three were shot. The men, Joel Jacobs, Israel Clinton and a yet to be identified man were declared dead at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Centre.

It was first reported that the men were alleged to have been responsible for the killing of Moseley who was scheduled to take up duties at GEB on Monday after completing weeks of training. Moseley was last assigned to the Special Investigation Unit (SIU), which is an amalgamation of intelligence gathering units and left the unit just over a month ago to join GEB.

Moseley was shot dead around 3.30 am on Saturday just off the Morvant Old Road, after visiting a friend. He was a father of five.

In a media release on Saturday, Griffith extended condolences to Moseley’s family.

In the statement, which was released before the trio were killed, Griffith warned: “To the person(s) who carried out this dastardly act, we will use all our resources to find you. We are pursuing certain leads in this investigation. I am sure there is someone out there who saw something.”

Head of the Social and Welfare Association Insp Gideon Dickson, echoed Griffith's sentiments in a telephone interview with Sunday Newsday. Dickson said the killing was a "bitter pill to swallow" and senseless.

"This is heart-wrenching and senseless. This has left a family in shambles. No one knows why and from our information it appears as though he was just attacked. An attack like this must be condemned."

At the scene of the police shooting, residents said Jacobs was a “drinker” and was not known to be involved in any form of criminality. Clinton, who was known as “War Lord,” is said to have been the target of police investigations and was the driver of the Nissan Tiida.

Jacobs’ relatives could be heard screaming from the scene of the shooting and too distraught to speak with the media. One relative, however, confirmed that Jacob celebrated his birthday on Saturday.

Other residents said Jacobs was on his way to buy alcohol to celebrate his birthday when he was killed.