Given Sri Lanka’s history, few occurrences alarm or shock the public. However, the murder of a 19-year-old yesterday morning (5) seems to have touched a nerve, with many, asking a question that has been on the lips of Sri Lankans for decades: When will the gun violence stop? 

Although the citizenry has been seeking an answer for this question for over 50 years, no government up-to-date has been able to effectively address the issue. Gun crime is a universal problem, bar a few countries where firearms circulation is either extremely limited, or use of firearms is well regulated. Gun crime is prevalent in almost all developed, and so-called advanced countries. So, perhaps, we should be asking, how can we effectively reduce it?

According to the Police spokesperson SSP Buddhika Manatunga, since 1 January, 42 incidents of firearms violence have been reported as of yesterday morning. Speaking to the media, Manatunga said, 28 of the 42 incidents are linked to organised crime, and have claimed 28 lives. He acknowledged that the number of incidents thus far in 2025, has seen a slight increase. However, he pointed out that in 2023, a total of 120 incidents of firearms-related violence were reported, averaging 10 per month. He told the media that in 2024, 102 incidents of firearms-related violence were reported, of which the Police believe 56 were linked to organised crime. Going by the statistics, he opined that although the public perception of violence may vary, the number does not indicate a significant increase in the type of crime. However, he claimed that the Police Department is doing it best to reduce gun crime.

Sri Lanka has a systemic issue regarding gun violence and it is linked to the undeniable issue of easy availability of firearms and ammunition within the island. This is strange as Sri Lanka has, arguably, a tight mechanism which keeps legal-licensed firearms ownership at a low level. The root of the issue can be traced back to multiple insurgencies, a 30-year long internal conflict and a culture of political violence which was born out of that age. To say Sri Lanka was awash with ‘small arms’ (light firearms which can be carried by individuals) following the end of the conflict in 2009, would not be an understatement. War trophies, poor documentation, storage and management of enemy arms confiscated during the conflict, and small arms supplied to political parties, politicians and groups linked to them have never been thoroughly accounted for. Further, hidden stockpiles of LTTE arms, which continue to surface with the passing of time, become highly-priced commodities in the Sri Lanka black market. There have also been serious concerns about leakages from State armouries over the years. In 2023, The Sunday Morning reported about growing concerns within the defence and security establishments about shortcomings in properly cataloguing and stockpiling small arms recovered from the LTTE during and after the end of the conflict in 2009. Highly-placed sources in the defence establishment told The Sunday Morning on terms of anonymity that some of the small arms which had been taken into custody from the LTTE and stored in the Army arsenals post-war had not been properly documented and stored safely, which had led to pilfering of assault rifles and pistols, which were frequently used by organised criminal groups and gunmen for hire. It is learnt that LTTE small arms, which were not listed in inventories and were not properly documented, are in demand, as even if their serial numbers, which are mostly obscured by criminals, were recovered by forensic specialists, they would be untraceable. Add to the issue, there is evidence that some stocks of small arms arrive in the island, as packaged deals with Heroin and Methamphetamine shipments from the Afghan-Iran-Pakistan belt, adding to the armouries of organised crime groups. There is also a thriving criminal element that rents firearms for hire to other criminals.

Given the magnitude of the issue, the need for an urgent review of legislation, and existing arms and ammunition control structures and systems is warranted. Given the massive mandate for ‘system change’ this Government got during the Parliamentary General Elections, the time is now right for the State to deliver the promised safety and security which the public deserves.