Athurugiriya shooting: Another vehicle used by suspects found

A van believed to have been used by the suspects involved in the shooting incident at Athurugiriya this morning (08) has been recovered by police in the Bulathsinhala area.

Based an information received by ‘119’ police emergency hotline today (8) at around 6.15 p.m., the van was discovered in an abandoned property in the Ayagama area of Bulathsinhala.

Reportedly, the van had been driven from Ayagama to Bulathsinhala.

It has been reported that the van in question does not have both front and rear license plates and a copy of the revenue licence is also pasted in the windshield. 

The shooting incident was reported this morning (08) at Athurugiriya during an opening ceremony of a beauty salon. 

During the incident, 55-year-old Surendra Wasantha Perera, also known as “Club Wasantha”, and a 38-year-old male were killed while four others were injured and hospitalised.

Two females including popular singer K. Sujeewa and another male were injured during the incident.

Police said that footage of the vehicle in which the suspects had arrived as well as the gunmen carrying out the shooting were recorded on nearby CCTV cameras.

Police investigations revealed that the shooters had arrived in a white car and that they used two T56 assault rifles to carry out the shooting.

However, the car used by the suspects to carry out the shooting in Athurugiriya was later found abandoned in Koratota, Kaduwela while CCTV footage show the suspects leaving the car on the roadside and fleeing in a van.

Accordingly, police investigations are underway to arrest the suspects.