The police fired shots during the arrest of two men who were wanted in connection with two separate crimes in Paphos on Saturday.

Paphos police’s assistant operations director Michalis Nikolaou explained that around noon on Saturday, the police had placed a block of flats in the town under “discreet surveillance”.

This was after they had been informed that a 33-year-old man who was wanted in connection with an attempted murder and a 39-year-old who was wanted in connection with a robbery were both residing in one of the flats.

At around 12.25pm, the pair and a third man got into a car and left. The car was stopped by the police shortly thereafter, and all three attempted to escape, with the police discharging their weapons during the incident.

The 33-year-old and the third person, who was later identified as a 35-year-old man, were apprehended, while the 39-year-old escaped.

The police’s investigation into the matter is ongoing.