The Eastern South Regional Police Command has arrested four people in connection with a shooting incident that left six civilians and three police officers injured during the burial and funeral rites of six family members at Asamankese.

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 that some individuals were transporting guns and cartridges into a room near the chief’s palace.

Police officers dispatched to the scene 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 arrested in connection with the incident.

However, the arrests triggered violent resistance from some youth, who reportedly attacked the police with stones and other objects, injuring three officers on their heads and hands. The attackers also damaged two police vehicles.

The chaos spread to parts of the town, as the youth blocked roads around the Asamankese–Akroso junction and near the chief’s palace, firing guns indiscriminately over claims that the bereaved family planned to bury their relatives in the royal cemetery.

Six civilians, identified as David Odame (28), Musah Gyakweli (29), Patrick Ofosu, Obeng Emmanuel (18), and Asamoah Sey (18), sustained gunshot wounds, with one other victim yet to be identified. All are currently receiving treatment at the Asamankese Government Hospital.

Police say calm has since been restored in the township. “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 law and order.

“The public is assured that security measures are in place to protect lives and property so that people can go about their normal duties,” the statement added.