A 40-year-old police officer is fighting for his life after he was shot in the face and neck during a major armed police operation in St Julian’s on Friday.
Police Commissioner Angelo Gafà said the critically injured officer, a member of the Special Intervention Unit (SIU), came under fire while officers attempted to enter a property where an armed suspect had barricaded himself.
The incident began after police received reports of a fire at a property in the Ta’ Giorni area, along with information that people might be trapped inside. Members of the Civil Protection Department (CPD) were dispatched to the scene, but preliminary investigations established that the blaze had been started deliberately.
Police identified one of the suspects in Birkirkara Road, St Julian’s, where he was arrested without incident. The man, who is from San Ġwann, was taken into custody as investigations continued.
Officers later established that the arrested man’s brother remained inside the property. Despite repeated calls to surrender, the suspect refused to leave the building. Police negotiators used a megaphone in an effort to persuade him to come out, but he allegedly challenged officers to enter the property instead.
The situation escalated when the suspect opened fire on police. One officer sustained minor injuries after being struck by gunfire, while an officer from the Rapid Intervention Unit (RIU) returned fire.
The Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team was deployed to the scene as negotiators continued efforts to resolve the standoff peacefully.
As SIU and RIU officers, wearing protective equipment, attempted to enter the building to rescue colleagues and bring the situation under control, the suspect again opened fire. During the exchange, the SIU officer was struck in the face and neck.
Gafà said the officer remains in critical condition and is in danger of dying.
Following further negotiations, the suspect eventually surrendered and was arrested. Police recovered two licensed hunting shotguns from inside the property.
According to the Police Commissioner, the motive behind the incident appears to be a long-running family dispute over ownership of the property. He said that, in recent years, the second man arrested had filed reports alleging that construction works were being carried out on the site without his consent.
Magisterial inquiries and police investigations into the shooting are ongoing.
Source: theJournal.mt
Photo: theJournal.mt
