Unidentified gunmen opened fire at a United National Front campaign rally killing at least one person on Friday, reports Agence France Presse.
The shooting occurred after the Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake spoke on stage at the rally in Colombo.
Speaking to press after the incident, Mr Karunanayake said,
“The gunmen wanted to target me. I was 25 to 30 feet away when this happened. Four guys in a car opened fire at our crowd.”
The head of the Campaign for Free and Fair Elections, Keerthi Tennakoon, told reporters, “We are puzzled by this latest turn of events”
Sri Lanka’s deputy prime minister, Harsha de Silva expressed shock at the incident pledging to not allow violence to return.
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