Students of Ascot High School in Portmore who turned up a for Caribbean history exam had much more to think about after a clash between the police and gunmen ended up on the compound.

A third attack on the life of a man who is alleged to have expressed a keen interest in taking over the notorious St Catherine-based Clansman gang eventually led to the disturbance, THE STAR learnt.

A man was shot dead and an illegal firearm seized during the ordeal, which caused chaos at the institution.

Police say shortly after 8 a.m., three men travelling in a Suzuki Vitara went to 8West in Greater Portmore, where they shot and injured a man from the community.

The man was reportedly shot several times before escaping his attackers and running to the Greater Portmore Police Station.

A subsequent search for the man's attackers was launched and the men were spotted travelling in a motor car in front of the school. Further reports are that the men pulled guns and opened fire at the police, who returned the fire. This led to a running gun battle on the school premises.

scamper for cover

According to an alleged witness, as gunshots rang out, one of the gunmen ran into the staff room, forcing everyone there to scamper for cover.

When the gunfire had ended, Christopher Hemmings of De La Vega City in Spanish Town, St Catherine, was found dead and a Glock 9mm pistol reportedly taken from him. Hemmings is an alleged member of the Clansman gang.

Investigators say the man who was shot and injured in the initial attack has been trying to gain control of the Clansman gang since the incarceration of the present leader, Tesha Miller. He had been attacked twice prior to yesterday's incident.

"Based on our intelligence, this is the third time he has been attacked ... He is said to be trying to take over the gang, a thing which has not gone down well with the present leader," Inspector Clive Howell of the Area 5 police told THE STAR.

This attack, the police say, is the third on the man's life. Police sources say he was implicated in the 1996 murder of Corporal Philip Gordon, who was slain during a shoot-out with armed men at a Western Union office in Spanish Town. Another policeman was also injured in the incident.

He was arrested and charged in connection with the incident but went free after his defence lawyers challenged surveillance footage which the prosecution had presented as evidence.

Meanwhile, the shoot-out disrupted a scheduled Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate Caribbean History examination, which was scheduled for 9 a.m.

Officials at the school say only students who were to sit the examination were present. They were reportedly given special consideration to sit the examination at a later date.