A 28-year-old man shot in Payagala, Kalutara, on Monday evening died at Nagoda Hospital later that night, police said.
The man was admitted with serious injuries after the shooting and succumbed to them at about 10.58 p.m., Ada Derana reported in an update to its earlier account. Police said investigations are under way into the circumstances of the shooting and the identity of those responsible.
Police suspect a gang dispute
Hiru News reported that police suspect the shooting was the result of a dispute between two underworld gangs. That is the only motive reported by any outlet, and Ada Derana’s account does not mention it.
Neither outlet named the victim, said whether he was known to police, or reported how many shots were fired or how many attackers were involved. No arrests have been reported.
The two accounts place it differently
The outlets give different locations within Payagala. Ada Derana said the shooting took place in front of a house in Naimulla. Hiru, in its first report and again in its follow-up, placed it in the Koshena area.
Both agree on the victim’s age, the Kalutara district, and that he was taken to Nagoda Hospital, so the reports describe the same incident. Neither outlet corrected the other, and LankaNewz has not established which locality is correct.
Context
Payagala has appeared in reporting several times this year, though in unrelated cases. Police arrested associates of a drug suspect there in an earlier operation, and a gunman was detained at Wettumakada in the same police division in June. Neither is connected to Monday’s shooting on the reporting available.
Police have not said whether the victim was targeted, nor released any description of the assailants. No outlet reported whether a magistrate’s inquest has been scheduled or a post-mortem ordered.
