Gunman kills one, injures 15 in Sri Lanka election campaign shooting

Crime scene. PHOTO: dbvnews.com

A gunman opened fire at election campaigners in Sri Lanka on Friday, killing a woman and injuring 15 other people, police said.
Police said that the Finance Minister, Ravi Karunanayake, was 500 metres away when a gunman fired from a speeding car in Kotahena, 8 kilometres north of the capital.

The police said that the gunman fired while people were rallying ahead of the Aug. 17 parliamentary elections.
“We cannot rule out that the minister was the target in the shooting incident. Although we are conducting investigations,’’ a senior police officer said.

Police said no fewer than three of those injured were in a critical condition.
Karunanayake, a senior politician in the ruling United National Party (UNP), said he was campaigning when he saw the shooting incident.

“I believe that the gunman was targeting me as I am one of the leading contestants for the UNP, the opposition wants to scare those campaigning,’’ Karunanayake said.
No arrests have been made, but police said they were likely to trace the vehicle because several closed circuit TV cameras fitted on

buildings captured footage of it.
Police reported that this was the most serious incident in the run-up to the election.