Policemen process the scene at the University of the West Indies yesterday, where a security guard was shot and injured. - Nathaniel Stewart/Freelance Photographer

A security guard was up to last night in serious condition in hospital, after he was shot and injured on the Mona campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI), after warring gangs clashed over who should get work on a construction site.

Three men were, up to last night, in police custody in connection with the incident. The police also seized a firearm and one of the men was shot and injured.

According to Inspector Steve Brown, information officer at Operation Kingfish, just after 1:00 p.m. yesterday, gangs from August Town, Mona Commons and Goldsmith Villa were arguing over who should get work on a construction site.

The men, some of whom were armed, began to fire at each other near the campus' main library. They were reportedly challenged by an off-duty policeman.

Inspector Brown said, some of the men began to run towards the Bank of Nova Scotia building, when the security guard, who heard the shots and had gone to investigate the incident, was shot.

A security guard who was near the library said she saw the armed men running towards the bank. She said students started to run and scream, while others got flat as shots rang out at the institution.

The police said they were concerned that the incident happened before scores of students but for several hours they were unable to piece the information together, as nobody was willing to provide them with information.

petrina.francis@gleanerjm.com