Sri Lanka’s Weekend of Bullets: Four Shootings in 12 Hours, Dozens in Six Months

If you thought the underworld had gone quiet, think again. Sri Lanka just lived through a chilling 12 hours that felt more like a gangster film marathon than reality.

It began Friday night in Grandpass, when a young man was gunned down near the Mahawatte clock tower. Hours later, bullets rattled Kotugoda Road in Mattakkuliya as gunmen sprayed a house. By dawn, another round echoed through Negombo’s Kuttiduwa, when two men on a motorbike unleashed fire on a home. And just as police scrambled to catch up, two riders cruised into Pamunugama Tissa Mawatha in Panadura and opened fire on a shop. Miraculously, no one died in those latter three attacks — but the message was unmistakable.

Four shootings. Twelve hours. One island.

A Six-Month Blood Trail

These are not isolated spurts. Over the past six months, Sri Lanka has clocked 60 shooting incidents, leaving 34 people dead and dozens more injured. From Ragama to Mannar, from Mount Lavinia to Galle, the story is the same: motorbikes, pistols, and quick getaways.

Most of these gun crimes trace back to underworld turf wars, drug rivalries, and political connections no one dares say aloud. Even the police admit: at least 44 out of the 60 shootings are organized-crime jobs.

And who can forget February’s headlines? A father and two children murdered in Middeniya, a brazen courtroom assassination of Ganemulla Sanjeewa in Hulftsdorp. By March, 27 shootings had already left 22 people dead — and the year had barely started.

The Gossip on the Street

Everyone has a theory. Some whisper about drug barons funding hit squads. Others hint at politicians protecting “their boys.” In tea shops and bus queues, people mutter: “The gangs run faster than the law.”

Police press conferences offer reassurances, but the numbers tell another story: 66 shootings since January, 35 lives lost, and 37 injured. The underworld seems to be outpacing the state, bullet for bullet.

Motorbikes, Murder, and Mayhem

The common pattern is almost comical if it weren’t so deadly. Two men, one motorbike, one gun. A spray of bullets at a house, a shop, or a passing car. Then vanish into the night.

Pamunugama, Negombo, Mattakkuliya, Grandpass — the weekend proved geography is no barrier. If anything, it showed coordination. Four shootings across three districts in half a day? That’s not coincidence. That’s choreography.

What’s Next?

With Rs. 2 billion meth labs busted in Middeniya, underworld dons fleeing abroad, and local politicians’ names surfacing in gang files, the gossip is only getting louder:

Who really bankrolls these hit squads?

Are the gangs sending a message to rivals — or to the state itself?

And the big one: when will the bullets turn from underworld targets to ordinary civilians caught in the crossfire?

The Cold Truth

Sri Lanka’s gun culture is no longer underground — it’s mainstream news, every week. From political operatives to street-level dealers, shooters on motorbikes have become as common as tuk-tuks on Galle Road.

The chatter in Colombo’s cafés says it all: “Today they shot at a shop. Tomorrow it could be us.”

For now, police say “investigations are underway.” But in the court of public gossip, the verdict is clear: the shooters are running the show.