An armed policeman and an airport security standing guard over the wounded gunman as he lies on the ground after he was wounded and disarmed.
THREE people were wounded in an
attempted murder drama that unfolded at the Jackson Airport
Four gunmen, allegedly from the rich
Moran oil project area in Southern Highlands ,
went to the domestic terminal to challenge a landowner chairman and his officers
who were scheduled to board a plane for Moro to attend the launch of the Moran
Special Purpose Authority (MSPA).
Finding their target gone, the
suspects turned on the public, wounding two before police also wounded one of
them.
Among the delegation travelling to
Moro that morning was MSPA chairman Tony Kila, local MP Francis Potape, deputy
commissioner of police operations Anthony Wagambie, journalists and government
officials.
The National was also at the airport
bound for Moro when the incident took place.
The MSPA is voted into office by the
Homa-Pawa and Baguale people through their 33 incorporated land groups.
Recently, a new board headed by Kila
was elected into office, replacing that of former chairman David
Mulungu.
While it was alleged that the
airport shooting could have stemmed from the changes within the authority, it
could not be confirmed with police and local
authorities.
Reports said the attackers had gone
to the airport armed with three firearms.
At the airport, one of the gunmen
produced a handgun from a side bag and shot a bystander on the chest in front of
the domestic terminal entrance. He then fired another shot into the
air.
Another suspect, armed with an
assault rifle and a shoulder-link belt filled with cartridges, stood up from the
back of a Ford Ranger parked at the public car park and shot at the
public.
A lone policeman within the vicinity
of the incident retaliated and fired two warning shots at the gunman, urging him
to surrender. Instead, the shooting continued and another man from the
Highlands was shot just below the
shoulders.
The gunman then alighted from the
vehicle and took cover behind another car, believed to belong to PNG Gardener
Justin Tkatchenko, and more shots were fired with a total of 27 bullet holes
counted on the vehicle.
The drama lasted for about 20
minutes before the suspect was shot just below his knees and
disarmed.
The gunman, after being disarmed and
in agony, kept shouting that he was prepared to die for his land and for his
brother.
He was later sent to the Port Moresby General
Hospital
Two people, believed to be a father
and son, apart from the wounded gunman, were taken into police
custody.
Police at the scene also retrieved
the assault rifle, 27 live cartridges and the shoulder-link belt and a handgun
used in the attack.
Police believed the weapons used in
the attack were registered to a landowner company.
Police bail was denied
yesterday.
ACP Wagambie tagged the airport
incident as “politics of economy” where, he said, the landowners were fighting
over who should
control the
funds.
Air Niugini’s Jack Pidik blamed
Civil Aviation Authority for the incident after a similar incident took place
last month when a gold buyer was murdered inside the
terminal.
He said that there had been many
calls to improve security at the main entrance to the airport but nothing had
happened.
Meanwhile, reports from Homa-Pawa
said many pigs were killed and the planned celebration went well without any
disturbances despite the incident.
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