The police in Ashanti Region two days ago shot 7 people suspected to be armed robbers at Ayirebikrom near Manso Nkwanta.
According to a report by the police, the men who were in a Toyota Corolla car did not stop when they were told to do so at a police checkpoint.
The men started shooting at the police when the police chased them to find out why they did not stop at the checkpoint.
The police also started ‘firing back’ in an attempt to defend themselves. In the end, they gun down seven young men they suspect to be armed robbers.
DCOP Kwasi Mensah Duku, the Regional Police Commander in Ashanti Region explained how the incident happened in a press conference at the Police Headquarters in Kumasi.
Also, they believe those they shot were on their list for an armed robbery incident some time ago and before the incident that led to their death, they got a tip-off that they were going to rob another place.
Furthermore, he stated that a committee is going to be set up to do further investigations into the matter.
The police found locally made guns and foreign ones, unregistered motorbike and the car they were using had the number plate BA 294 15 and 4 mobile phones.
The families of those who died, on the other hand, have not taken this lightly saying they were not armed robbers.
“For record’s sake, our brother is never an armed robber”, a relative of one of the deceased was heard saying.
Moreover, some of the family members are saying they will not go for the bodies of relatives until the police prove to them they are thieves.
Of the seven people that were shot, families of three of the deceased are saying they were mistaken to be thieves and are accusing the police of not doing their jobs well.
Yesterday, there were reports of some disturbances at Asoase a Muslim community in Kumasi to show their displeasure with the outcome of the incident. It has been reported that Delta Force, the Vigilante group of the ruling NPP government led the disturbances at the area as it is believed some of their members they among those who died.
Not only are they angry about the death of their relatives but they are also going berserk about the committee that will be set up to investigate the incident.
Does it mean those who their families are claiming are not armed robbers found themselves at the wrong place at the right time? Or they have a secret life their families did not know about?
Until the police give them proof that they were all armed robbers, the families have told the police to keep the corpses.