Lae police shootout 2016

This was the warning Lae metropolitan superintendent, Anthony Wagambie Jnr, gave to settlers after the police shootout at Five-Mile early Saturday morning.

During the gunfight, a suspect was killed while two others were in critical conditions.

A few hours later, the Lae police boss conducted an awareness at the Five-Mile market.

“I warned the community that they must appeal to the youths to stay away from crime. They were man enough to confront police so they met their fate,” Wagambie Jnr said in a statement.

A security firm had initially alerted them of an attack on a service station there.

“The criminals were exchanging gun fire and stoning the guards,” Lae metropolitan superintendent Anthony Wagambie Jnr said in a statement.  

“Police on foot went to the location and were confronted by the gang, who engaged them in a shootout.

“Police shot three suspects. Two are in critical condition while one is confirmed dead and in the morgue,” said Wagambie Jnr.