A father of three had died after being shot by a soldier on duty, when he had allegedly attempted to grab his firearm over an argument at a school in Akmeemana yesterday.
Police Media Spokesman SP Ruwan Gunasekara said the victim had gone to the school to pick up one of his three children studying at the Upananda Vidyalaya in Akmeemana last morning and a soldier on duty at one of the two school gates had refused him entry. An argument had taken place between the soldier and the father and he had scuffled with the soldier and tried to grab his service weapon.However, it is uncertain if the man had been shot intentionally or accidently during the scuffle. The 39-year-old man who was injured in the incident was rushed to the Karapitiya General hospital, but had been pronounced dead.
Speaking to the Daily News, Senior DIG in charge of the Southern Province and Sabaragamuwa Province Roshan Fernando said that the school had notified the father that one of the children was ill and this incident had occurred when he had gone to the school.
“The three children are studying in Grades 1, 2 and 10,” he said.
The victim identified as Kaluthotage Udaya Predeep Kumara,39, of Wanchawala Pilana is a retired member of the Navy Band.
“The soldier attached to the Galle Fort Gemunu Watch has been taken into custody by the Akmeemana Police and was due to be produced in court,” the Senior DIG said.
A Police team, headed by an ASP has been appointed to investigate the incident to determine if the shooting was justified and why the soldier had fired to kill, instead of shooting below his waist. The victim is suspected to have been shot in the chest.
Galle Acting Magistrate Lalith Pathirana visited the hospital and examined the body and ordered for the postmortem.
Man shot to death after trying to enter school forcibly [Time 13.29]
A 39-year-old man has died after being shot when he had attempted to forcibly enter the Upananda Vidyalaya this morning.
Police said that the individual had attempted to grab the firearm of a soldier on duty.
When an army soldier at the school stopped him to go into the school, the suspect had tried to grab his firearm.
Suspect was injured and was rushed to the hospital.
The suspect had succumbed to injuries while receiving treatment at the Karapitiya Hospital.
Further investigations are underway.
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