CASTRIES, St Lucia, (CMC) — Police shot and killed four men yesterday after they robbed a business enterprise in Vieux Fort, south of here.

Police said that the men from the capital, Castries, had engaged them in a gun battle while trying to flee the area.

Officers named the leader of the group as Baptiste MacFarlane, alias "Epic", of La Clery, north of here. They did not disclose the names of the others killed. A fifth man, who was also shot during the incident, has not been named and is in critical condition in hospital.

The police said they had been monitoring the activities of the bandits as they emerged from the business place with the stolen goods.

The men sped off in a waiting vehicle but were later cornered by the police and in the ensuing gun battle, the four were killed