Police dismiss gunfire against Costa’s vehicle
The Liberia National Police (LNP) and its UNMIL Chinese counterparts have completed investigation with respect to the alleged shooting incident involving the vehicle of talk show host Henry Costa, ruling out any possibility of gunshot being fired at Mr. Costa’s vehicle.
The final investigative report released Tuesday afternoon, 21 November says the investigation established that the impact on the windshield of the vehicle was caused by a round –shaped or arc-shape small object in a vertical direction, or a small stone splashed from another vehicle. On 15 November, Mr. Costa reported to the Police that his vehicle operated by him was shot at on the Tubman Boulevard, specifically between the Carter Center and 3th Street, Sinkor where the Ministry of Education is located.
The LNP had earlier in its initial investigative ballistic test report of residue released on 16 November ruled out the possibility of gunshot hitting the vehicle. Details of the report say the analysis on the Morphological characteristics of the impact, the possibility of gunshot mark could be excluded based on the certain facts stated.
The report notes that bullet hole and the peripheral lines formed by gunshots were not observed on the windshield, and that generally, bullet holes have obvious characteristics that small, straight lines (peripheral lines) are evenly distributed around the bullets holes. It says the characteristics of the radial lines of the cracks on the windshield are not consistent with the characteristics of the radial lines formed by the gunshots; and that the radial lines formed by gunshots are more than the radial lines observed on the windshield.
Police say in the report that the characteristics of the tangential stria were observed in the crack on the windshield, and the ring –shaped impact accords with the impact formed by low-speed collision of round –shaped or arc- shaped small objects. They add that the crack shape of the glass indicates that the collision was from the vertical direction of the windshield.
In addition, the police team of investigators who visited the alleged crime scene observed that during the time of the incident, there were electricity around, that upon the team’s arrival on the scene, people were still going about their normal businesses, and there were no panic witnessed among people. The LNP says the release of the final investigative report brings to end the investigation and closes the matter.–Press release
