Hagen police task force in shoot-out

FIVE members of the Mt Hagen police task force came under attack after they were shot at by a suspect brandishing a pistol.
Police retaliated and shot the suspect on his thigh, and then apprehended him.
Police also retrieved a Magnum pistol from the suspect.
The incident took place at Kuli village in Anglimp, Western Highlands province, last Sunday.
Metropolitan commander Chief Insp Peter Roari said police task force members, acting on a complaint, went to Kuli village to retrieve a licensed firearm belonging to a businessman that was allegedly stolen by his son-in-law.
Chief Insp Roari said before police arrived at the village, relatives of the businessman were already at Kuli and proceeded to beat up the suspect’s wife, who is the daughter of the businessman, over the missing firearm.
Hearing the commotion outside, the suspect came out of the house and allegedly fired a number of shots at the crowd, which included police task force members who retaliated and shot the suspect on his thigh.
He was then disarmed.
Chief Insp Roari said the suspect was recovering at the Mt Hagen General Hospital.
The suspect would be questioned and charged accordingly, he said.
He also warned criminal elements and others wanting to put up a fight against police that his officers would not hesitate to retaliate in similar fashion.
Some of these encounters, Chief Insp Roari said, could prove fatal for people fighting police.