A reporter for the state-run newspaper “The Mirror” was shot and injured by unknown gunmen in the northern Shan State city of Muse on Tuesday.

Sayar Maung, who is a resident of Muse, was shot near his home at around 9:30pm on Tuesday. His home is in the grounds of the Thein Than Chi bus station in Muse’s Ho Moon Ward.

He confirmed that he was shot as he and his friend Maung Kaung Myat Tun were talking in front of a neighbor’s house. The two assailants were asking him for directions to Mingalar Muse when they suddenly pulled out their pistols and shot him. 

“There were two men. One was taller and had white skin and was wearing a hat. The other’s face was covered with a mask. They shot at me five times. They also shot at my dog,” Sayar Maung told SHAN.

It was the second time in less than a week that he had been the target of a hostile act. At around 8pm on August 31, an unknown man threatened him over a post he had written on social media. 

“It has nothing to do with my news reporting. I think it’s related to a personal grudge,” he told SHAN.

Sayar Maung has reported the incident at Muse Myoma police station.