Police Shoot And Wound Man In East Iceland

Police shot and wounded a man reportedly armed with a gun in Egilsstaðir last night, RÚV reports. The man was flown to hospital in Reykjavík, where his condition is currently unknown but he is reportedly alive.

According to police and witnesses, police were called to the scene at around 22:00 after a gunshot was heard. Police arrived to find a man armed with an unidentified firearm that one witnessed only described as a rifle. Witnesses heard more shots fired. The man was ordered to drop the weapon, but refused. Shortly thereafter, he was shot by police.

Þröstur Jónsson, who lives on the same street where the shooting took place, told Vísir that the man had shot out at least three windows of a house, and at police.

In fact, RÚV reports that the man in question did not live on the street, but had gone to the location to fire at someone else’s house. There was nobody home at the time. Speaking to RÚV, he also believes the man in question had two firearms.

He told reporters that he was in his garage when he heard a shot. “I went outside to check it out. Then I saw some man messing with something behind a car. Something told me to go back inside. I was actually lucky, as he was loading his rifle then. God knows what would have happened if he wasn’t doing that when I stepped out.”

Police told reporters that they are still investigating the matter, and would not provide any further information while investigations are ongoing.

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