Police, in pursuit of a man wanted in connection with an armed robbery, yesterday opened fire on the suspect in the North Ruimveldt area, sending residents in the neighbourhood ‘diving for cover’.

The incident took place in the vicinity of Cul de Sac and Soufriere Streets, North Ruimveldt, around 10:20 h.

Information received said the man, though hit by one of the rounds discharged, managed to escape, while the police continued their search for several minutes. Reports also said a weapon, apparently dropped by the man, was recovered by the police.

Persons in the neighbourhood were tight-lipped when the media arrived. Asked for a comment, Pastor Neilford Chase, of the Church of the Nazarene on Kaikhan Street, said he didn’t know what the shooting was about.

Fearful for a church member who lives at a house close to where the shooting occurred, he said on arrival there he saw the police speaking with members of a nearby household, and later they were taken to the police station.