One of several men who tried to rob a female motorist was shot and wounded but died at the Port Moresby General Hospital today.
A lone policeman who came across the unfolding robbery reportedly shot the gunman who was taken to the Port Moresby General Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
NCD Central Commander Assistant Commissioner Anthony Wagambie Junior said the would-be-victim was a woman who was driving a maroon sedan along Nikibata road in the Gerehu suburb when several men sprung from the roadside, brandishing homemade guns and knives.
At about the same time, a police vehicle arrived, causing them to scatter in panic. And then a loud gunshot went off almost instantly, and one of them fell to the ground, reportedly wounded by a police bullet.
The suspect lay flat on the ground while his accomplices fled. His homemade gun, a knife, and a bilum were recovered by the lone policeman who, by now, had radioed for backup.
Several police patrol cars raced to the crime scene, and the wounded suspect was later carried away in a stretcher by ambulance workers who arrived at the request of police.
Mr Wagambie said the lone cop acted courageously by attacking the armed criminals single handedly.
Mr Wagambie is appealing to the community at Gerehu to provide information on the gang so police can pursue and arrest the rest of them.
Members of the public coming onto the scene of the shooting where the criminals left their weapons.