A gunman who arrived by car opened fire in the Halpathota area of Baddegama, in the Galle district, on Sunday morning, police said. At least one person has died and several others were wounded — but the published accounts do not agree on the death toll or on what the gunman was shooting at.
Two police teams have been deployed to trace the attacker, who fled the scene. No arrest has been reported.
What each outlet reports
Hiru News, filing at about 10.30 a.m., reported two people injured and no deaths.
Newswire, about twenty minutes later, cited the Police Media Spokesperson saying assailants in a car opened fire on a residence using a T-56 rifle, seriously wounding a man and a woman who were inside.
The Daily Mirror reported at 11.10 a.m. that one victim had died in hospital.
Three unresolved discrepancies
The Daily Mirror contradicts itself. Its headline and opening line say one person died “while two women remain critically injured” — three victims. Its own body describes only two: “a man and a woman who sustained critical injuries,” one of whom later died, leaving a single survivor.
The target changes. The Daily Mirror, Hiru and Newswire’s first report all place the shooting at a house. Newswire’s later report says CCTV footage shows the gunman stepping out of the car and firing at a moving three-wheeler on the road.
The toll may have risen. That same later Newswire report says a second victim has also died, putting the toll at two, with several women hurt. No verified newsroom had confirmed a second death at the time of writing — the Daily Mirror’s listing carried nothing newer, and NewsFirst had not filed on the incident at all. The second fatality should be treated as unconfirmed.
Outlets also spell the location three ways — Halpathota, Halpatota and Halpetota.
Ada Derana carried its own report, but the site remained unreachable, so its account could not be checked.
