Clergyman shot
dead in Ampara, wife crtically injured
Two armed men raided a Pentecostal church in Ampara on Sunday
night and shot dead its pastor. They then shot his wife
seriously injuring her. She was admitted to the Intensive Care
Unit of the Ampara Hospital in a critical condition.
The deceased has been identified as 37-year-old Samson Neil
Edirisinghe and his wife 31-year-old Shiromi Edirisinghe.
Police investigations revealed that the killers had arrived
on a motor cycle entered the church by force and shot the
husband and wife with a T 56 rifle.
Till noon yesterday, Police were unable to say who the
suspects were and as to why they shot the priest and his wife.
Police said they did not rule out the possibility of LTTE
involvement and would get a clear picture once the wife
recovered. "If she recovers she should be in a position to tell
us a reason for the attack and could even tell us about the
identity of the killers" a senior Ampara based policeman said
A special police team has been deployed on the instructions
of Ampara DIG Rienzi Perera to carry out investigations.
