The Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force confirmed last night that several people, including police officers, were shot and injured in the Long Bay area.
At 7 pm, the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force posted the following on its official Facebook page:
Commissioner of Police Trevor Botting a few minutes later in a video posted to the police’s official Facebook page urged calm.
He confirmed that earlier in the evening there was a shooting, out towards Long Bay. As a result, police intercepted a vehicle believed to be transporting the people in relation to the shooting.
During the interception, the suspects in the vehicle opened fire upon the police which resulted in the police vehicle being struck a number of times and police officers being injured.
The police commissioner said there were other incidents ongoing which they are managing. He urged the public to remain calm as the police force is working hard to keep control of the situation.
Commissioner Botting said the hospital has been locked down due to the volume of people there and not because of any incident at the hospital.
He also advised members of the public not to go to the hospital at this time unless it is an absolute emergency.
Meanwhile the Turks and Caicos Islands Hospital in a media statement last night said out of an abundance of caution following shooting incidents in areas of the community remote from the hospital, a series of events led to the activation of the Emergency Mode status at The Cheshire Hall Medical Centre.
It stated that the safety of staff, patients and their families is their top priority and advised members of the community to access the Cheshire Hall Medical Center in cases of extreme emergency only.
It ended by saying staff and patients remain under the protection of security and the police at this time.
