A 19-year-old man who is believed to be of unsound mind was shot and injured by the police minutes after he allegedly stabbed a woman seven times in her neck and back along Lyssons Road in St Thomas on Monday.
The police confirmed that the incident occurred around 3:30 p.m. outside the gates of the Princess Margaret Hospital. Reports are that the man robbed his victim before he attacked her with a pair of scissors. Bystanders reportedly alerted the police of the situation. The man was later shot in his legs by a police constable when he allegedly tried to stab one of the cops who was trying to arrest him. He was then taken to the Princess Margaret Hospital for treatment before he was later transferred to the Kingston Public Hospital in downtown Kingston, where he was admitted.
When contacted for a comment on the matter, head of the St Thomas Police Division, Superintendent Allison Byfield, explained that the constable was forced to use his weapon as the "mentally challenged man was advancing towards the officer in an aggressive manner".
"The police signalled the man and they tried to apprehend him, but he had a scissors on him so they didn't get close to him. But he advanced to the police with the scissors in hand. The police were giving him orders to stop but he continued and get on to a constable with the scissors," she said.
"He is not someone who is on the police's radar prior to this incident, but we learned from the (Princess Margaret) hospital that he has mental challenges. For the moment, we will not disclose his name until formal charges are proffered on him," Byfield stated.
