The Tribune

By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Digital Editor

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

What began as an apparent fatal hit-and-run on Carmichael Road erupted into a gun battle between suspects and two off-duty police officers on Sunday morning, leaving one suspect wounded and another being hunted by police.

Police said the incident unfolded shortly before 8am near Spikenard and Carmichael Roads when two off-duty officers travelling east in a private vehicle saw a silver Suzuki strike a man who was lying on the roadway.

Emergency Medical Services personnel responded and found the victim, a 59-year-old man, suffering from severe lacerations and other upper-body injuries. He was taken to hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

According to police, the officers pursued the suspect vehicle through Excellence Estates and onto Golden Isles Road. During the chase, one of the vehicle's occupants allegedly fired several shots in the officers' direction.

The pursuit continued onto Cowpen Road and into the Summerset community, where the suspects stopped their vehicle.

The police statement read: "The suspects exited the vehicle, produced firearms, and fired multiple shots at the officers. Fearing

for their lives, the officers returned fire from their service weapons. The suspects subsequently re-entered the vehicle, drove to a nearby dead end, abandoned the vehicle, and fled on foot eastward into a bushy area."

According to police, responding officers searched the area and found one suspect suffering from an apparent gunshot wound to the lower back. He was arrested, cautioned and taken to hospital, where he remained in stable condition up to press time.

Crime scene investigators recovered a firearm, the silver Suzuki and other items of evidential value, police said. 

The off-duty officers' vehicle was also found to have sustained gunfire damage to the front passenger door.

Police said investigations are continuing as officers work to identify and apprehend the outstanding suspect or suspects.