Tensions flared in Granville, St James, on Monday as angry residents mounted fiery roadblocks to protest the fatal police shooting of 45-year-old Latoya ‘Buju’ Bulgin under controversial circumstances.

By the time The Gleaner arrived in the community shortly after 10 a.m., firefighters from the St James Division of the Jamaica Fire Brigade had already extinguished most of the fires. A heavy police presence remained in the area, led by Senior Superintendent Eron Samuels, commander for St James. A team from the Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM), headed by regional director Warren Williams, was also on the scene.

Residents, many of whom spoke with visible fear, anger and disbelief, insisted that Bulgin was killed in cold blood during an encounter with the police on Sunday.