Update, September 15: A second suspect — the motorcycle rider — has been arrested. Details below.

Update, August 10: A 23-year-old suspect has been arrested over the attack.

An attempt to shoot a bakery owner in Dehiwala on Tuesday evening failed when the gunman’s weapon did not discharge, and the intended victim then overpowered the attacker and took the firearm from him, police said.

The incident occurred at around 8.10 p.m. near the Dahanayake Grounds in Dehiwala. Police said a person with his face covered arrived at the premises on a motorcycle and aimed a firearm at the bakery owner, but the weapon failed to operate.

A struggle followed between the two men, during which the bakery owner managed to seize the firearm from the assailant. The attacker fled the scene without the weapon. The bakery owner sustained minor injuries in the confrontation.

The Police Media Division said investigations have begun to identify and arrest the suspect. No arrests had been reported by late Tuesday, and police have not publicly indicated a motive.

Ada Derana and the Daily Mirror gave slightly different descriptions of the location, placing the bakery on the Dehiwala–Kaduwela Road and on Kadawatha Road respectively, though both identified the Dahanayake Grounds as the landmark.

Update: suspect arrested

A 23-year-old man was arrested on Sunday, August 10, on suspicion of being the gunman in the attack, Ada Derana reported.

The suspect, a resident of Homagama, was taken into custody by Special Task Force officers attached to Camp Jayawardenapura during an operation in the Habarakada area of the Athurugiriya Police Division. He was subsequently handed over to the Dehiwala Police Station, which is continuing the investigation.

Ada Derana identified the case as the attempted shooting on Kadawatha Road in the Dehiwala Police Division on August 4 — the location given in the Daily Mirror’s original account of the bakery attack. Police have not said whether the man arrested is the same person the bakery owner disarmed, nor have they reported a motive or any further arrests.

Update, September 15: motorcycle rider arrested

A 20-year-old resident of Ratmalana has been arrested over the attack, NewsFirst reported on Tuesday morning.

Police said the man was the rider of the motorcycle the attackers used to reach the scene, making him the second person held in the case rather than a second gunman. He was taken into custody in Habarakada, Athurugiriya — the same area where the alleged gunman was arrested in August.

NewsFirst described the case as an attempted murder by shooting in the Kadawatha Road area of Dehiwala on the night of the 4th, and noted that “the shooter was arrested recently in Habarakada, Athurugiriya” — the arrest reported above on August 10. The location, the date, the arrest locality and the reference to a prior arrest all match, which is the basis for treating this as the same case.

The account also settles a point the original reports left unclear. Ada Derana, the Daily Mirror and Hiru all described a single masked man arriving on a motorcycle; NewsFirst refers to “the suspects” and distinguishes the rider from the shooter, indicating two people were involved — one riding, one firing.

One discrepancy remains unresolved: NewsFirst describes the victim as a hotel owner, where the August reports identified him as a bakery owner. No outlet has reconciled the two descriptions.

Still unreported: the rider’s date of arrest, whether he has been produced in court, whether either man has been granted or refused bail, and any motive. Police have also never said whether the firearm the victim seized was sent for ballistic testing, or whether further suspects are being sought.

Context

Greater Colombo has seen a sustained run of shootings over the past several months, which police have linked to rival drug trafficking and underworld networks. The Dehiwala–Mount Lavinia area in particular has recorded repeated gun attacks, and police operations against organised crime have produced a large number of arrests this year.

Recovering the firearm intact gives investigators a potential forensic lead, as ballistic testing can link a weapon to earlier incidents. Police have not said whether the seized gun has been sent for examination.