The Eastern South Regional Police Command has arrested four suspects in connection with a shooting incident at Asamankese that left six civilians and three police officers injured during the burial and funeral rites of six family members.
According to a police statement issued on Monday, October 27, by DSP David Fianko-Okyere, Head of the Public Affairs Unit, the arrests were made on Sunday, October 26, following intelligence reports that some individuals were transporting guns and cartridges into a room near the chief’s palace.
Police officers dispatched to the area retrieved one single-barrel gun, 84 live AAA cartridges, seven cutlasses, and two knives.
The suspects — Isaac Ntim, Nana Yaw Zenyo, Bismark K. K. Adam (29), and Buaben Richard (25) — were apprehended in connection with the incident.
However, the arrests sparked violent resistance from some youth in the town, who attacked the police with stones and other objects, injuring three officers in the head and hands and damaging two police vehicles.
The chaos spread to sections of Asamankese, with youth reportedly blocking roads near the Asamankese–Akroso junction and around the chief’s palace, firing guns into the air amid tensions over the planned burial of the deceased at the royal cemetery.
Six civilians — David Odame (28), Musah Gyakweli (29), Patrick Ofosu, Obeng Emmanuel (18), and Asamoah Sey (18) — sustained gunshot wounds, along with one other yet-to-be-identified victim. They are all receiving treatment at the Asamankese Government Hospital.
Police say calm has since been restored.
“The situation has been normalised and Asamankese Township is calm,” the statement said.
The Command added that patrols and surveillance have been intensified to maintain peace and order.
“The public is assured that security measures are in place to protect lives and property, allowing people to go about their normal duties,” the statement concluded.
