A 26-year-old youth was killed, and another individual injured in a shooting incident at Kapparathota in Weligama yesterday.
Five people walking on the Kapparathota-Walliwela road in the Weligama Police Division were targeted in the shooting, Police reported. An unidentified group that arrived on three motorcycles at approximately 1 a.m., opened fire on these people and fled the scene.
Two of the five persons were struck by bullets. Ballistic experts confirmed that the bullets had been fired from a T56 assault rifle. Among them, a 26-year-old resident of Kapparathota succumbed to his injuries. He was later identified as Akash Tharuka. The 29-year-old also from the same area, who sustained serious injuries, was identified as Shehan Dulanjala.
The injured person was initially treated at the Weligama Walana Hospital and later transferred to the Matara District General Hospital. The motive behind the shooting remains unknown.
Police later recovered a motorcycle suspected to have been used by the suspects who carried out the shooting. The motorcycle was found abandoned near a lake in the Moonamalpe area of Weligama.
