Three suspects have been arrested over the shooting of a three-wheeler in the Kappalthurai area of Uppuvelli, Trincomalee, and investigators have identified one of them — a former army soldier — as the gunman.
The arrests were made in a joint raid by Uppuvelli Police and the Matara Police Special Task Force (STF), NewsFirst reported. The suspects are aged 24, 28 and 34 and are residents of Dikwella and Trincomalee.
Hiru News reported that the shooting took place on the night of 2 November, and that investigations had identified the former army soldier, arrested in the Matara–Dikwella area, as the person who fired the shots.
The shooting
The attack killed a 39-year-old Navy sailor who was driving the three-wheeler. Three people were wounded and taken to hospital, and one of them later died of his injuries. Police said at the time that a T-56 was used and that they suspected a dispute connected to the drug trade. Our earlier report on the attack is here.
If the identification holds, a former soldier is alleged to have shot a serving sailor — a detail neither filing remarks on.
Where the accounts differ
NewsFirst describes the attack as targeting two passengers travelling in a moving three-wheeler. The police account reported at the time of the shooting described three people wounded, including the driver who died. This desk is not reconciling the two; the figure should be treated as unsettled until police state it directly.
Not reported
Neither filing names any of the three suspects, states which unit the former soldier served in or when he left the army, says whether the weapon has been recovered, or gives a court date. Neither says whether the suspected drug-trade motive reported on 2 November has been borne out by the investigation, and no charges have been confirmed.
