13 year old child injured in shooting

By Kushan Jayawardene   

A 13 year old child was injured when wildlife officers on duty at Katukeliyawa on Saturday night(18) opened fire at a tipper lorry transporting sand which sped away ignoring the order to halt. Wildlife officers said they had used rubber bullets.  

Investigations revealed that the lorry had two individuals on board and a 13 year old boy with them had received injuries in the shooting. The injured was rushed to the Rajangana divisional hospital and later transferred to the Anuradhapura teaching hospital.  

A spokesman for the hospital said the boy had sustained a bruise on his head and minor injuries. The wildlife officer who opened fire at the lorry surrendered to police. Nochchiyagama police are conducting further investigations.