Lone cop saves the day

By MIRIAM ZARRIGA
AN off-duty police officer has been hailed a hero after taking on four armed carjackers in Waigani, Port Moresby, on Sunday morning killing one and wounding two others.
The officer avoided being shot by using his driver’s side door as a shield.
He pursued the gang on foot and shot three of the suspects at the Kone Tigers Oval, police say.
Waigani Police Station commander Snr Sgt Bill Werake said he was unable to comment on the incident and that all information would come from the National Capital District (NCD)/Central command office.
However, he did confirm that there was a shooting incident at Waigani.
NCD police homicide division told The National that they were investigating the incident with CCTV footage obtained from a shop.
The National can confirm that one of the men shot was a suspect who was involved in a carjacking attempt at the Badihagwa-Hanuabada roundabout on Friday.
Sunday’s shooting incident occurred after an attempted carjacking which saw the four suspects initially tried to approach a vehicle at a shop’s carpark exit in North Waigani.
The officer killed one and injured the other two in the course of protecting himself and the occupants with him.
An eyewitness, who was in another vehicle, told The National that the officer was driving another vehicle when the car, a Nissan X-Trail, in front of him was approached by four armed suspects.
The driver of the X-Trail managed to drive off and the four suspects then turned their attention on the officer’s vehicle.
The officer concealed his firearm and when confronted by the suspects, moved to step out of his car in the act of surrendering when he used his door as a shield and fired at the suspects who fled.
The officer then chased three of the suspects to Kone Tigers Oval and fired at the fleeing suspects who were also armed and returned fire.
All three suspects sustained gunshot wounds.
The public, realising what had happened tried to assist the officer, but he directed them to stand back while he cleared the scene and called for backup.
Police reinforcements and the St John Ambulance personnel arrived at the scene with one of the suspects pronounced dead while the other two were treated for wounds to the thigh and buttocks.
A factory-made revolver, homemade pistol, knife, screwdriver and ammunition were recovered at the scene.
The officer was taken to the station and questioned as per police protocol on a police shooting and wrote up his statement.