A Saudi activist has revealed that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has not been seen in public over the past few weeks, was actually shot and injured in heavy gunfire reported from outside the royal palace in the capital Riyadh late last month.

Mohammed al-Mas’ari, the secretary-general of the Islamic Revival Party, citing reliable sources, said in a recent interview with Lebanon's al-Mayadeen TV that bin Salman was hit by bullets during the late April attack.

He said the news of bin Salman’s injury was leaked by sources within the royal family before widely circulating on social networking websites such as Twitter.

Elsewhere in his remarks, al-Mas'ari said the crown prince now plans to appear before the media in order to deny reports of a coup.

A number of journalists in Riyadh reported heavy fire outside the palace compound on April 21. Although Saudi Arabia’s state news agency claimed it was a shooting down of a toy drone that had gotten too close to the royal property, some wondered if the gunfire was in fact a coup led by royals against King Salman.

Saudi activists said the shooting had nothing to do with the drone, but it was an attack from vehicles carrying heavy machine guns and shooting randomly.

It was claimed that bin Salman had been evacuated to a nearby bunker at a military base for his safety.

The incident happened just after the young heir to the throne wrapped up a whirlwind global tour meant to advertise himself as the new power in the kingdom. Back home, the crown prince faced tension within the royal family.

No new photo or video of bin Salman were released by state media. Bin Salman was not even seen on camera when US Secretary of State Mike Popmeo paid his maiden visit to Riyadh in late April. The long disappearance had raised speculation about the fate of the crown prince.