Policemen conduct operations at a house owned by reggae artiste Luciano yesterday, after a two-hour shoot-out with a lone gunman at the Westminster Crescent, St Andrew premises left three cops shot and injured earlier in the day. - photos by Rudolph Brown/Chief Photographer

International reggae entertainer Jepther McClymont, better known as Luciano, was expected to spend last night in police custody as he faced the possibility of being slapped with multiple charges.

The 45-year-old McClymont was arrested yesterday after a shooting incident at his Westminster Crescent, St Andrew home and studio, which left three policemen nursing gunshot wounds.

The alleged gunman has since been identified as Andrew Senior, dubbed 'Conqueror' by his cronies following a previous incident in Central Village, St Catherine, where he shot four policemen and escaped.

Yesterday, he was not that lucky as an almost two-hour-long stand-off ended with him dead.

Acted on information

The police said the incident began about 5:30 yesterday morning when they acted on information and went to the premises on Westminster Crescent in search of Senior.

Unofficial reports state that the police were about to enter the house when they were greeted with gunfire.

One policemen was hit in the leg and another in the groin. A third policeman, who attempted to rescue his injured colleagues, was shot in the face.

During the shooting, Senior was heard declaring he was determined to kill members of the force and boasting about the amount of ammunition he had.

"We have recovered the firearm at the scene. It is a high-powered weapon, and what is even more critical was the type of ammunition that was found at the scene," Leon Rose, assistant commissioner of police in charge of Area 5, told The Gleaner. "From what we have seen, and the evidence that presented itself, Andrew Senior was well armed, he was heavily armed."

Other policemen on the scene told The Gleaner that while a .45 semi-automatic pistol was taken from Senior, spent shells found inside the house indicate that an M16 rifle had also been fired, but that weapon has not been found.

The cops finally managed to move in on Senior after they received back-up from their colleagues and members of the Jamaica Defence Force.

Luciano not present

The mother of one of Luciano's children is comforted at the scene of the shoot-out.

Luciano, who was not in the house at the time of the shooting, and other persons who were on the premises, including children, were taken into custody by the cops.

"Certainly, children were taken up. That would be for their own protection," Rose said. "We have a right and a duty to protect those children. We have also taken up people that we believe are persons of interest as we continue our investigations."

The police are expected to return to the house today with Luciano and his attorney to continue their search.

arthur.hall@gleanerjm.com