A man who allegedly tied up a family and demanded money was killed during a shootout with police yesterday morning.

Investigators were searching for a second suspect last night.

The dead man was identified as 21-year-old Nicholas Bernard Friday, aka Slim.

The officers, acting on a tip-off, went to a house at Moody Stewart Street, San Fernando, around 2.30 a.m. Two men armed with guns were seen inside a downstairs apartment.

Dave Seon, owner of Seon's Bar at Royal Road, San Fernando, his 41-year-old wife Penelope Nurse and their five-year-old daughter Faith were tied up and locked in a bedroom.

"I closed the bar and came to my apartment. As I turned the key to open the door, two men came and placed guns at my head. They forced me to open the door and tied me up with duct tape. They tied up the lady and my daughter as well. They keep asking me for the money," Seon, 59, said.

About 45 minutes later the police arrived, he said.

"I don't know how the police knew what was happening. They came quietly and stood outside. Then the bandits started shooting at the police and they returned fire. The men started to run," he said.

Friday collapsed a short distance away at Navet Road.

A revolver was found nearby, police said.

He died at the San Fernando General Hospital around 3.30 a.m.

The Express visited Friday's relatives yesterday at Battoo Avenue, Marabella.

But they were reluctant to speak about his death.

"We have nothing to say to you all. His father, who is a police officer, is abroad and you can speak to him when he comes," a relative said.

Seon thanked the police for their quick response.

"I am grateful to the police because I don't know what these men would have done to us. I have no idea how the police found out what was happening, but I am really thankful," he said.

ACP John King commended the officers for their quick response and for ensuring that no innocent people were injured.