Early on Thursday morning, an attempted murder and arson took place at a car rental company on the Larnaca–Dhekelia road, as a security guard came under gunfire and four vehicles were set ablaze.

Police were alerted around 3.50am, and fire and police units rushed to the scene, successfully extinguishing the blaze.

Investigations revealed that four vehicles were deliberately set on fire, while the security guard reported that a shot had been fired at the company offices.

Further inquiries established that at approximately 3.30am a vehicle arrived at the premises, from which two individuals emerged.

One carried a firearm, and the other a container of flammable liquid.

The armed individual fired a shot in the direction of the security guard – who was inside the office at the time – and hit a nearby column. The shot forced the security guard to the ground as the second individual doused four vehicles with the flammable liquid and set them on fire.

The scene was combed for forensic evidence with police officers collecting a cartridge casing and a bullet.

The security guard was unharmed.