Vendors and shoppers were sent scurrying for cover on Saturday, when two policemen, who mistook each other for gunmen, had a daring shoot-out in the Savanna-la-Mar Market in Westmoreland, THE STAR understands.

When the dust settled, one of the policemen and two civilians, a 15-year-old boy and a man, were left nursing gunshot wounds, police say.

The injured cop, a special constable from the Westmoreland division, has been hospitalised since the incident, but the boy and the 40-year-old man were treated and released.

Police say the other policeman, a special corporal stationed at Harman Barracks in Kingston, was in the parish on business. He is still on duty, pending investigations.

Officers from the Bureau of Special Investigations (BSI) confirmed that they have launched an investigation into the incident. Following the investigation, a file will be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions for a ruling.

"Yes, we are investigating the incident, but one of them (policemen) is still in hospital, so we can't talk to him as yet," Granville Gause, head of the BSI said.

Information reaching THE STAR indicates that shortly before 6 p.m., one of the policemen saw the other in the market with his gun protruding, and decided to follow him closely. But the cop who was being followed noticed that he was being trailed.

Police say both men eventually confronted each other, drew their weapons and exchanged gunfire. Following the shooting the special constable, the boy and the man were taken to Savanna-la-Mar hospital. The cop was later transferred to the Cornwall Regional Hospital in Montego Bay, St. James.