Suspected arsonist escapes after opening fire on homeowners

Shots rang out in Judges Hill in the wee hours of yesterday as a lone gunman opened fire on two homeowners, who were pursuing him.
An explosion jolted some residents of Judges Hill from their slumber to see a car engulfed in fire and someone running from the scene. Two homeowners quickly pursued the arson suspect, who opened fire on them.
“We heard a loud boom, my wife looked out and screamed. I grabbed my cutlass and my neighbour came out and we started chasing the person. I was so close to [him] and that’s when he fired the two shots, so I started backing off,” said one of the men, who pursued the assailant.
According to the man, his wife had rented the Toyota Yaris, R2172, from her employer, Tropical Rental, and parked it immediately outside their fenced yard.
The chase of the person seen close to the vehicle after the explosion, led them to a large building that is under construction to which a security guard had signaled them, believing that the armed man was hiding there.
But, when they searched the area they did not find the suspect, who has been described as approximately 5-feet, 6-inches tall, and wearing a hooded sweater and jeans at the time.
It is believed that the suspect ran into another yard.
“The woman heard him in her yard because he got clotheslined,” one of the pursuers related. “He ran into the line and burst it. The woman told us she heard him in the yard for about 10 minutes trying to catch his breath. Then he ran into another yard, but, that lady has a generator and he plugged it out and was there for about 30 minutes, the lady said. She was afraid to come out,” the man stated.
He said that the vehicle was ablaze and the fire spread to his garbage bin and three fire trucks responded, however, the vehicle was destroyed by the fire.
When the blaze was put out two rocks with messages strapped to them were found close to the crime scene.
“There was a stone in my yard with a paper and pen writing, ‘that ah wha happen when are you see and chat to much’, and another stone was found further down the road with a note, ‘you owe me mi money you get away the last time,'” the man said.
He added that he had been on high alert since four days earlier, when he chased two unknown assailants who had smashed the window of his neighbour’s Honda, Type-R car.
“They were in the vehicle and tried to steal it, but, the steering wheel was locked and the car rolled away in the yard of the body shop. They damaged the guy’s car. The car was dented and the front skirting was broken because the car ran onto the sidewalk. Two guys jumped out and ran,” the man recounted.
That incident which was reported to the police occurred at approximately 4 a.m. on Sunday.
When OBSERVER media visited the scene, what appeared to be material from the airbags of a vehicle, believed to have been used to set the blaze, was scattered around the street.
Meanwhile, an ambulance was dispatched to the home of the woman who had rented the vehicle after she had become distraught. Her husband said she was assessed and treated on site.
Up to late yesterday, police said they did not have a suspect in custody.