3 persons arrested in connection with attack on Asiwa police chief
DCOP Kwasi Mensah Duku, Ashanti Regional Commander
Three persons have been arrested in connection with a shooting incident
which left four police officers, including a senior officer, wounded in
Asiwa in the Bosome Freho District.
They have been identified as 20-year-old Marcus Anang, Emmanuel Sekyere, 27 and teenager Emmanuel Appiah, 17.
The three were among a group of people who mounted three roadblocks,
laid ambush and fired several shots at police officers on Sunday.
The officers, including a District Police Commander, were on a mission to arrest murder suspects in the Ashanti Region town.
The incident occurred at about 12.a.m in Tuffuorkrom near Nsuta.
Asiwa District Commander, ASP Denis Boateng, and four other police personnel sustained severe gunshot wounds.
He was transferred from the New Edubiase Government Hospital to the
Accident and Emergency Center at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital
(KATH).
The four others have been treated and discharged at the same hospital.
They have been identified as Corporal Samuel Achina, driver of the
District Commander, Emmanuel Agyemang and Samuel Antwi, both Community
Police Assistants, as well as a driver for the Bosome Freho District
Chief Executive, identified as Kennedy Obeng.
The police team, in the company of District BNI officer, were acting on
intelligence to arrest suspects believed to have murdered one Moses
Obodai who was butchered whilst sending his son to school about two
weeks ago.
The suspects who had then escaped mounted three roadblocks and laid ambush on the police unit.
Ashanti Regional Crime Officer, ACP Peter Baba, says the attackers shot
at police officers who had then arrested Marcus Anang for possessing a
single-barrel gun and three cartridges.
Police explain that the attackers laid ambush and shot into the officers
who had attempted to dismantle the second roadblock, injuring the
offices in the process.
"Just as they were getting to the roadblock, they saw one person with
the single-barreled gun; they ordered him to lay down that arm which he
complied and he was arrested.
"There was another barrier in front. Before they got to that roadblock,
they heard several gunshots and the police commander was shot in the
neck and some parts of the face, and then two CPUs [Community Police
Unit] also sustained gunshot wounds," ACP Baba told Journalists.
According to ACP Baba, ASP Boateng who received the neck and facial
gunshot wounds and currently on admission at KATH is recovering.
"His condition seems to be stable. We have been told by the medical
doctors on duty that a Urologist is supposed to attend to him, an X-ray
is supposed to be taken before they can actually know whether his
condition is critical or not," he said.
Meanwhile, the police say it is treating the case an attempted murder of the police personnel.
"We are treating it as attempted murder. The attack on the police is an attempt to murder the policemen who went there.
"This is a criminal act which we are taking seriously. It was an attempt
to murder the police officers who were performing their mandatory
duty," ACP Baba added.
