Cops kill 8 men in 100 hours
Alleged cop killer among trio cut down on Mandela Highway
Published:Thursday | November 20, 2025 | 11:43 AMAndre Williams/Staff Reporter
An operation targeting a suspected cop killer ended in the fatal shooting of three men during what investigators describe as an armed, daylight confrontation along the westbound lane of the Nelson Mandela Highway in the Corporate Area on Wednesday.
The Gleaner understands that the target of the attack was a man known as ‘Smeagle’, who was wanted in connection with the shooting death of Corporal Christopher Smith on December 6, 2024 at a Texaco gas station in St Andrew.
According to the police, members of the Counter-Terrorism and Organised Crime Division intercepted a black Honda Fit travelling in the direction of Spanish Town, shortly before midday.
The police reported that the occupants opened fire, triggering a shoot-out that left Smeagle and two other men fatally wounded.
There were no reports of injury to any member of the police team.
Investigators are also probing whether the same Honda Fit was used in a robbery in Portmore, St Catherine, on Tuesday night, and say early intelligence had linked the vehicle to a series of criminal activities carried out in St Catherine and the Corporate Area.
Detectives believe the men were part of a wider network responsible for robberies and shootings.
The police say while others have been arrested in the murder of the cop, Smeagol has long been wanted as the suspected triggerman in the corporal’s murder.
The Gleaner gathered that the other deceased men are from the Lincoln Avenue area.
Yesterday’s incident caused bumper-to-bumper traffic lasting for several hours as the scene was processed.
The Independent Commission of Investigations is probing the fatal shooting.
A total of eight men have been killed in alleged confrontations with the police in the last four days.
On Saturday about 4 a.m., a man was fatally shot in Mount Salus, St Andrew, and an AK-47 rifle reportedly taken from him.
Also on Saturday, about 9:45 p.m., two men were shot and killed in Golden Spring, St Andrew, in an area called ‘Duppy Gully’. The police say they recovered two illegal firearms in that operation.
Another man was shot and killed on Saturday night in the Standpipe area of Barbican, St Andrew.
The police say a firearm was also seized then.
Over in St Catherine, a reported chase and alleged shoot-out led to the death of a resident of Gregory Park on Monday evening.
Yesterday’s three fatalities bring the total to 272 civilians killed by the police since the start of the year.