• Stray bullets killing people have also been widely reported lately
• GhanaWeb brings you some of these recent incidents
The Bureau of Public Safety recently stated that there are over 2.4 million firearms in circulation in Ghana, and in private hands.
This could just explain why there continuous to be several cases of casualties that have resulted from stray bullets in the country.
In the last week, two of such stories made the headlines with the first one being that of a 27-year-old young lady at Nima who died from a stray bullet wound.
Paulina Yeboah was hit in the waist by a stray bullet that came from a wedding at Nima. She later died after she was not attended to quickly at the hospital.
In the other instance, a nine-year-old boy was hit in the head at Senya Bereku after a stray bullet from some people performing a traditional activity, killing him on the spot.
But those have not been the only cases in recent times.
Here are a few of them:
Eid Funfare at Aboabo
On Tuesday, July 20, 2021, GhanaWeb reported how a stray bullet killed a 16-year-old boy during Eid fanfare at Aboabo Number Two in the Asokore Mampong Municipality of the Ashanti Region.
Identified as Abdul-Gafar Kassim, the teenager was first rushed to the Manhyia Government Hospital but was later confirmed dead at the same hospital.
Kassim was hit by a stray bullet after a group of gun-wielding youth began to brandish their weapons and fired warning shots as part of the Eid-ul-Adha festivity, just right after their Eid prayers.
Gomoa Nyanyano
At Gomoa Nyanyano on March 1, 2021, it was reported that a stray bullet killed a 75-year-old man following a misunderstanding that ensued at the installation of a chief for the community.
The deceased, Kofi Abasa, was hit by a stray bullet at the Nyanyano Royal family gathering and was pronounced dead on arrival at the Kasoa Health Post. His body has since been deposited at the Police Hospital Morgue for autopsy and preservation.
Sogakope Protest
In March 2020, at Sogakope, three persons were hit by stray bullets after police officers fired shots to disperse angry youth of the town who had blocked the bridge over the Volta River.
They were protesting the murder of their assemblyman and how the police had responded to the incident.
The injured, all males, were treated at the Kumbulu and Sogakope Hospitals.
Hwindo Incident
Also in April 2020, it was reported that a Church of Pentecost deacon had been hit by a stray bullet under a strange circumstance at Hwindo within the Sekondi/Takoradi metropolis of the Western Region.
The 44-year-old Jonathan Appiah was on his way to his farm that morning when he was hit in the head, causing him to fall flat on the ground.
Eyewitnesses told Takoradi-based Connect FM that just when the victim bypassed them on the way to his farm, they heard gunshots and suddenly the bullets hit him.
Esuekyir Crossfire
In January 2019, a woman on board a taxi that was caught in a crossfire between the police and some suspected armed robbers at Esuekyir near Ankaful in the Central Region, was killed when a stray bullet hit her.
Her husband, Aboagye Okyere, 47, who was also on board the taxi, was reported to have been battling for his life.
A schoolgirl, 15, who was also by the road looking for a car for school, was also hit by a bullet from the crossfire.
Jamestown Bullion Van
Armed gunmen attacked a bullion van at Jamestown, a suburb of Accra on Monday, June 14, 2021, resulting in the death of two people; General Constable Emmanuel Osei, and Joyce Efia Amankwa.
The story of how the latter lost her life to the bullet of the indiscriminate shelling robbers, emerged with different narrations.
Some reports described the 40-year-old woman as a hawker who was shot after attempting to raise an alarm when the robbers struck, while others described the mother of three as a pregnant woman who died in the melee of the attack.
Speaking in an interview with GhanaWeb, a brother of the deceased said she got struck by a stray bullet leading to her death, unbeknownst of the chaos that would result in her death.
