A suspected armed robber was last Thursday gunned down after a shoot-out with the police in Tema. He is alleged to have shot a policeman in the thigh before he was shot in the neck, resulting in his death.
The deceased was part of a four-member gang a police patrol team stopped to interrogate at a spot known as Top Ten Club, near the Banners of Grace Ministries, at Community Nine.
Other members of the group, according to the police, escaped in the ensuing melee.
A pistol loaded with 15 rounds of ammunition and 12 live ammunition in the pocket of the deceased were retrieved after he was shot.
A saloon car and two motorcycles were also impounded.
Briefing
Speaking to journalists in Tema last Friday, the Public Relations Officer of the Tema Regional Police Command, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Mr Joseph Benefo Darkwa, said at about 10:30 p.m. last Thursday, while on night patrol duties at Community Nine, the police saw the young men at a spot known as Top Ten Club near the Banners of Grace Ministries, smoking dried leaves suspected to be Indian hemp.
He said the patrol team stopped to interrogate the but the deceased, who was part of the group, allegedly pulled a revolver and shot twice, hitting the left thigh of a police constable.
He said the constable returned fire which hit the neck and shoulder of the deceased.
Mr Darkwa said both the injured police constable and the suspect were taken to the Tema General Hospital, where the suspect was declared dead.
The police constable was, however, treated and discharged.
Investigations
Mr Darkwa said the Tema Regional Police Command had commenced investigation into the incident.
In a related development, the Tema Regional Police Command has arrested nine suspects, including an ex-military man, in a swoop in the Ashaiman Municipality.
The operation, part of the command’s operational plan to clamp down on criminal activities, was carried out based on intelligence gathered that some miscreants were hiding in some places and dealing in narcotic drugs.
Mr Darkwa gave the names of the suspects as WO2 George Hagan, 52, who was arrested with a black handbag which contained dried leaves suspected to be Indian hemp; Kojo Nyarko, 32; Alhassan Abdulai, aka, Cubicle and Seth Onomah, 37.
The rest are Jerry Atibire, 58; Desmond Wogah, 28; Seletian Duboss, 48; Joshua Afrifa, 53, and Alhassan Nuhu, 24.
The Police PRO said the suspects, who were rounded up in various ghettos within the Ashaiman Municipality, were in police custody.
