A Jamaican suspected of participating in an armed robbery yesterday was shot and injured by police in St Maarten.

The island, located in the eastern Caribbean, has been beset by a recent wave of armed robberies prompting the rolling out of a zero-tolerance team mandated to crack down on criminal elements.

About 12:45 p.m. yesterday several police patrols, members of the zero-tolerance team and detectives, were directed to Aruba Drive where an armed robbery was reportedly in progress.

The first police patrol to arrive on the scene approached the house in question and on entering encountered a masked man armed with a handgun that was aimed at the members of the patrol team.

The policemen took cover and immediately called for backup as the suspect fled the home through a door into the backyard. He jumped a fence and fled through the hills in the direction of a community known as Saunders. A description of the suspect was communicated to other patrol teams who launched an intense search in neighbouring areas.

As they searched in the Saunders area, a man fitting the description was spotted. When he noticed that he was being approached by police he took off running. The police ordered him to stop but he ignored them and continued to flee.

Two other police patrols joined in the chase during which shots were fired. The suspect, identified only as R.S. of Jamaica, was struck in the right shoulder. The chase ended on the Gladiola Road. He was treated on the spot by paramedics and then transported to the St Maarten Medical Centre for further treatment. The suspect was admitted to hospital in stable condition.

Back at the house where the situation began, police found a maid who was bound by the suspect. They also later found the owner of the house who was hiding in a bedroom.