The incident took place in the former war zone of Thirukkovil in eastern Sri Lanka on Friday night, a police statement said.

Among the injured taken to hospital was the officer in charge of the police station, it added.

The sergeant who carried out the shooting was arrested after surrendering himself and two Type 56 assault rifles with ammunition at a separate police station, spokesman Nihal Thalduwa said on Saturday.

Thirukkovil has been largely peaceful since the end of the Sri Lankan Civil War in 2009. It is located around 208 miles east of the commercial capital Colombo.

The motive of the shooting is not yet clear, police said.