A police officer with the Osu Police CID in Accra, Sergeant Welbeck Agyina has been arrested for allegedly discharging a firearm unlawfully during a durbar at Suhum in the Eastern Region.
His arrest comes after seven persons, including two women got injured in the process leaving them with various degrees of injuries when they were hit by one of the stray bullets from the policeman’s firearm.
The victims were 23-year-old Sandra Kwakye, 32-year-old Roselyn Boateng, and John Offei, 26. The rest are Francis Ntow, 27, Godfred Owusu, 32, Emmanuel Offei, 33, and Kwadjo Darko, 50 years old.
They were sent to the Suhum Government Hospital for treatment.
Through police intelligence, a locally manufactured 70mm BB cartridge, which was identified by the suspect as the weapon he used for the act, was retrieved from the scene.
The suspect, Agyina, who is said to be a cousin of the newly installed sub-chief, also sustained an injury in his right palm and was also taken to the Suhum Government Hospital for treatment.
DSP Tetteh said two among the victims had been referred to the Eastern Regional Hospital in Koforidua, while three are still seeking treatment at the Suhum Government Hospital.
He said the other two victims had been discharged, as well as the suspect, who is now in police custody.
There have been in recent times incidents of stray bullet injuries, which have made the headlines.
Some of them include one that happened during an Eid fanfare at Aboabo where a 16-year-old boy in the Askore Mampong Municipality lost his life.
A 27-year-old lady also died from a stray bullet that came from a wedding ceremony at Nima when she was hit in the waist.
The Bureau of National Safety has stated in its recent report that about 2.4 million firearms are in circulation in Ghana explaining the many casualties resulting from stray bullets.
