Sergeant's gun was used to shoot officer, police confirm

The police in St Kitts and Nevis have confirmed that the firearm of Sergeant Leon Powell was the same one used by Vincent Taylor to shoot and injure a Police Officer on Friday (August 31).

At a Press Briefing held at the Police Training School on Saturday (September 01), Commissioner of Police, Ian M. Queeley, disclosed that the weapon was recovered at the scene where a search operation for Vincent Taylor was carried out on August 31. Taylor was wanted by Police for armed robbery and, as a result of investigations, had become the prime suspect in the shooting death of Sergeant Powell. During the operation, Taylor opened fire on the Officers as they closed in on him and they returned fire. He was fatally wounded and the weapon was taken into Police custody. An Officer was shot and injured and is currently listed as being in a stable condition at the JNF Hospital awaiting surgery.

It has also been confirmed that it was the firearm used to shoot and kill Sergeant Leon Powell. Commissioner Queeley, also announced that the Forensic Department had performed ballistics analysis on the bullets from the firearm, the shells found at the scene in Sandy Point and those from the Sergeant Powell incident.

“It was reported that he was relieved of his firearm by his attackers at the time of his death. As I speak to you, the ballistics work carried out on the bullets and other shell casings found at the scenes have just been completed. The results indicate that it was his weapon that he was relieved of that was used to kill him,” Commissioner Queeley said.

He added that at the time of Taylor’s death, he was carrying a back pack that contained a mask, a pair of gloves, tie straps and a knife.

“These are currently in Police custody as we believe that they are of some evidential value to the investigation. Also, the premises we believe he had been occupying was also searched and other items of evidential value were taken into custody from that scene as well,” Commissioner Queeley added.

He went on to commend the persons who have been working behind the scenes in the various departments on these cases saying that the “Officers and technicians have been exerting commendable effort with the limited resources at their disposal given the recent gun related incidents that they are currently dealing with”.

Additionally, he commended the members of the public who readily provided information that led to him being located and chastised those who assisted him by providing food, shelter and transportation.