Police shot at after car chase

Two men in their early 20s are being held after they allegedly shot at the police following a frantic car chase.

The incident started unfolding at about 2 a.m. yesterday when a police patrol became suspicious of a van in Sta Venera.

When the men inside the van saw the police, they sped off, with the police hot on their heels. While driving through Ghajn Dwieli Road, Paola, the van crashed into a Fiat Punto with two women in it, both of whom were slightly injured.

The two men were constrained to abandon the van after the collision and tried to elude the police who fired a warning shot and the men returned fire. One of them scaled and jumped over a wall falling a height of two storeys, at which point he was arrested.

The police found the weapon, a sawn off repeater shotgun, loaded with four cartridges. Sources said one of the cartridges jammed after the first shot, and that was probably the reason why no more shots were fired at the police. The serial number of the shotgun was obliterated, indicating it could be a stolen weapon. The van was also stolen.

The first to be arrested was a 21-year-old man from Marsascala, who was taken to hospital, suffering from broken bones.

The second man, from Zabbar, was arrested later. The sources said he too was injured, probably as a result of the collision.

Police investigations are being conducted by CID Inspector Joseph Mercieca and district Inspector Anthony Cassar.