One injured in gun fire for failing to stop stolen vehicle at roadblock

An individual who had stolen a vehicle, has been injured after army officers opened fire at him for failing to stop at a road block in Wadduwa, Army Spokesman Brigadier Sumith Atapattu said.

The Spokesman noted that army officers had signalled the van to stop after they were informed that the vehicle had been stolen from Mathegoda. However, the van had been travelling at an excessive speed and had even knocked down two army officers at the roadblock.

The owner of the vehicle who had complained to the police about his lost vehicle, had tracked down the movements of the van with the assistance of a GPS tracker, police said.

Army officers had given chase and managed to recover the stolen vehicle with the assistance of the Walana Police Organised Crimes Preventive Division.

One individual who had been injured in the gunfire had been arrested and then hospitalised for treatment while another suspect is believed to have fled the area. Police have launched an operation to locate and apprehend the missing suspect.