A man and his wife were killed in Katuwana on Saturday when they were shot by four robbers fleeing after an abortive attempt to rob a nearby house. The victims were S. P. Jayasena and A. P. Gunawathie.

One suspect was killed and another seriously injured when the police opened fire on the fleeing suspects.

The deceased is a resident of Kurunegala and the injured a resident of Middeniya.

The police acting on a tip off that a house was being robbed rushed there. Sensing danger, suspects had already fled. While they were getting away on two motorcycles, the husband and wife had screamed on seeing them. The suspects shot them dead with two improvised guns.

Later the police pursued the gang and opened fire on them as they rode on without heeding warning shots.

The police are looking for the missing suspects and seek public assistance to arrest them.