MONTEGO BAY, St James — Popular hardcore dancehall artiste Rygin King was up to late yesterday evening in emergency surgery after he was one of three people shot — one fatally by unknown assailants in an incident in Westmoreland yesterday afternoon.

In an earlier incident on the day the police also reported that two women were killed in a shooting incident in Trench Town, St Andrew.

In the incident involving Rygin King, early reports are that shortly after 3:00 pm, the entertainer, whose given name is Mathew Smith, was travelling in a convoy of three motor vehicles along the Struie main road, Bethel Town, in Westmoreland when one of the vehicles was involved in a collision.

Rygin King, according to a police source, was reportedly shot in the back, chest, and foot.

The parishes of Westmoreland, Hanover, and St James are currently under a state of public emergency.