Two men were held shortly after an off-duty policeman was shot dead in Penal on Monday morning.

Police said PC Zaid Mohammed was killed at Katwaroo Trace, Penal, sometime before 10 am.

Residents heard the gunshots and called the police.

Officers from the South Western Division Operational Command Centre sent a broadcast, and police on patrol saw a car matching the description of the getaway car. It was intercepted and two Princes Town men, one of them the son of a top-ranking policeman, were held.

Police searched the car  and found a Glock 17 pistol under one of the front seats.

Investigators said Mohammed had been on leave for some time before his death.

Speaking with Newsday on Monday, Snr Supt Richard Smith of the Southern Division said the police had intensified their activities because of murders over the weekend, and this is what enabled them to hold the suspects within a very short time.

This is a developing story.