Armed man picks wrong victim

By SYLVESTER WEMURU
IT was a case of bad luck for an armed man who picked a wrong victim to rob and was shot and wounded by police in Madang on Sunday.
The armed robber had tried to rob the occupants of an unmarked police vehicle by pointing his gun to stop the policemen.
“The robber was drinking homebrew and standing outside Madang Teachers College when he stopped the vehicle in Sagalau and pointed his gun at the driver,” Madang police commander Supt Mazuc Rubiang said
“He tried to shoot the driver without realising that policemen were in the vehicle.
“A policeman then shot and wounded the robber who was taken to the hospital.”
He said the section of the road from the junction to the airport and Sagalau had been a hotspot for robberies and police conducted regular crime prevention patrols.
“The policemen were lucky to be able to respond fast enough to bring down the armed robber who was also intoxicated and, thus, slow in response,” he said.
Supt Rubiang said the robber had previous reports of such crimes and other serious crimes and was wanted by police.
“We have seized two rounds of live ammunition from the robber.”