SEBERANG PERAI, July 3 — A man who escaped unhurt in a shooting incident on Tuesday had reclined his seat when he saw a motorcycle heading towards his vehicle, said Penang Deputy Police Chief Datuk Mohd Alwi Zainal Abidin.

He said the man had already reclined his seat halfway while waiting to pick up his child in his four-wheel drive outside a primary school in Sungai Nyior.

“The man said he saw a motorcycle speeding towards his vehicle and immediately reclined the seat until it was fully flat.

“That’s when the two suspects on the motorcycle opened fire, but the bullets missed him,” he said.

“Police are currently conducting further investigations, and we do not rule out the possibility that the victim knew the two men who shot at his vehicle, even though he denies it,” Mohd Alwi said when met at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Batu Kawan Market at Bandar Cassia.

He said the man, in his 40s, is a businessman with four prior criminal records.

Police are also not ruling out links to gangsterism.

Initial investigations revealed that the man was previously a gang member but is no longer involved in such activities, he said.

“We have formed a task force to carry out a detailed investigation into the case, including efforts to track down the two men who fired the shots,” he said.

The case is being investigated under Section 3 of the Firearms (Increased Penalties) Act 1971 and Section 307 of the Penal Code for attempted murder.

Mohd Alwi assured the public that although the incident took place in front of a school, the situation remains under control.

“We have increased security measures,” he said.

In the 5.40pm incident on Tuesday, two suspects on a motorcycle fired five shots at the man’s front window while he was waiting for his child outside SK Sungai Nyior.

The man was not injured.