Two wanted men shot dead in Gerehu

TWO men wanted by police were shot dead in separate shootouts in Gerehu last week.
On Wednesday morning, a Kerema youth died in a shootout between police and a gang of criminals in the Tete settlement.
The other wanted man, murder suspect Hanla Akila, was shot dead on Friday night after he opened fire at the police while trying to scale a fence in Gerehu stage 3.
In the first incident, police trailed a stolen vehicle on a back road where the vehicle was cornered near the Lae Biscuit factory.
The occupants of the car fired at the police vehicle and a chase ensued to the settlement and the gang’s vehicle was forced to a stop after its tyres were punctured by a shot.
The gang members fled on foot but one of them was shot dead.
The main suspect, a 34-year-old man from Gabadi in Kairuku-Hiri district, who was responsible for shooting at the police, was also captured and is now in police custody.
The suspect was on parole and worked as a company driver.
In the second incident at 10.45pm on Friday, murder suspect Akila was drinking with some friends when police received a tip-off.
Akila fired several shots at the police and tried to scale a fence in his bid to escape.
Akila had escaped twice from police cells.