SINGAPORE, June 1 — A fearsome cacophony of shouting, car horns and screeching tyres, then a series of gunshots, followed by wailing sirens.

Those were what shocked awake some residents of condominiums on Ardmore Park and Anderson Road yesterday morning, unaware that nearby, a dramatic police shooting was taking place to stop a driver who had crashed through barricades in a bid to flee police checks set up near Shangri-La Hotel, where a high-level security conference was being held in the past three days.

By the time they opened their windows, all they saw were dozens of police officers dashing around.

A couple living at Ardmore II condominium said the loud blare of a car horn and the gunshots had awakened them.

“It was quick. We heard the sounds, we jumped out of bed and looked out the window ... We saw many officers around,” said Ms Rachel Maher, 42.

When she went downstairs to take a closer look, she heard yells and saw several dozen security personnel around the site.

“I was a little shocked ... Once I went back to sleep, I had really bad dreams. It’s scary, hearing these gunshots,” she said.

A housekeeping officer at Shangri-La Hotel said that sometime after 4am, he heard a loud blast that sounded “like a tyre bursting”.

“Then, I saw Gurkhas running around and they asked me to stay inside because it was not safe,” said the hotel employee, who declined to be named.

More than an hour later, he learnt from security officers that the blasts were gunshots.

German IT specialist Andreas Rommel, who lives at Darby Park, said he heard two screams from a man sometime after 4am. He said the first scream lasted for a few seconds and that the other was shorter.

Ms Lisa Qiu, who stays at Shangri-La Apartments, outside which the car eventually stopped, recalled loud sirens in her half-awake state and wondered whether it was the police or an ambulance. “I thought someone in the area was ill and there was an ambulance,” said the Chinese tourist.

A man was shot dead and two others were detained following the shooting incident at 4.36am near the Shangri-La Hotel, where a high-security summit was ongoing on May 31, 2015. — TODAY pic

After the incident at 4.36am, several roads around Shangri-La Hotel were locked down briefly, as officers searched the vehicle, which was driven by 34-year-old Singaporean Mohamed Taufik Bin Zahar, who was shot dead by the police.

No explosives, arms or weapons were found in the car, but a bag believed to contain illegal drugs was found on one of the two passengers, who were both arrested.

Despite the incident, delegates attending the Shangri-La Dialogue said they were not worried about their safety, saying they were confident of the tight security put up around the venue.

Mr Dean Cheng, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, said: “We have been very impressed with the security measures that we have seen.”

Bangladesh High Commissioner Mahbub Zaman, who had to make a detour to get to the security conference because of the temporary closure of Anderson Road, said: “I have confidence that (the authorities) have taken enough security measures,” he said.

Referring to news reports that substances believed to be drugs were found on one of the men arrested, American delegate Trefor Moss said: “I guess it was a test of the procedures. It’s unfortunate somebody was killed, but the security procedures have worked.”

As Singaporeans woke up to reports of the incident, many also praised handling of the incident by the police.

A 50-year-old man living at Ardmore Residence, who wanted to be known only as Steve, said: “It is unexpected for something like that to happen here, but I come from the United States (where) these things happen all the time, so I’m not shocked.”  — TODAY