Jamaica has again been hit with negative publicity in the international media after a local member of the United States-based Church of Jesus Christ and Latter-Day Saints (LDS) also known as the Mormon Church was killed in a cross fire between the police and heavily armed gunmen on the busy Spanish Town Bypass in St Catherine Monday afternoon.
RJR News had reported that a man identified as Jermaine Luther Walker from an address in Westmoreland died after one of the bullets hit a bus in which he and seven Mormon missionaries were travelling.
News emerged Monday night that Mr. Walker was a Jamaican-based Mormon Elder who was attached to the Church of Jesus Christ and Latter-Day Saints in Kingston.
The incident quickly caught the attention of several overseas media networks including ABC News, Fox, MSNBC as well as the Associated Press and news web sites in Canada.
Caught in the crossfire
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in a statement from its Salt Lake City, Utah, headquarters said Jermaine Luther Walker, a Kingston native, was hit by a stray bullet while riding in a van with seven other missionaries.
"It appears the van they were in was caught in the crossfire as local police were pursuing another vehicle. Elder Walker was immediately driven to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead," the statement from the church read.
The elders, serving in the Jamaica Kingston Mission, were on their way home from an activity on Preparation Day and not proselytizing when the shooting occurred.
"Although shaken, the other missionaries in the van were reported in good condition," Our thoughts and prayers are with Elder Walker's family and all who knew this fine young man," said the statement from Church spokesperson Scott Trotter.
No sign yet of gunmen
And the police are continuing their search for the gunmen who were involved in Monday's shootout on the Spanish Town Bypass.
Following the gun battle the police cordoned off a section of the by-pass near March Pen Road.
Traffic was also diverted to Portmore or through Spanish Town.
However up to late Monday night, there was no sign of the men who escaped in a car.
It is not known if any of them was injured during the shooting.
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