The Ezillo community in Ishielu Local Government area of Ebonyi State was a sea of tears and blood yesterday and residents\u2019 preparations for the New Year \u00a0in tatters after unknown gunmen invaded the area at dawn, killing no fewer than 52 people.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Most of the victims were children aged between three and five. A police officer, described as the Divisional Crime Officer (DCO) ,was also killed in the mayhem.<\/span><\/p>\n Governor Martin Elechi visited the community hours after the incident. He cancelled all visits in connection with the new year celebration.<\/span><\/p>\n The motive of the gunmen could not be immediately ascertained but eye witnesses said they arrived the community in a vehicle at about 5am.Thereafter,they divided themselves into groups.<\/span><\/p>\n One group operated at the Afor Ezillo market opening fire on people while another group attacked the police station. The DCO who was on his way to work was caught in the bullet rain.<\/span><\/p>\n An eyewitness, Mr. Ikechukwu Eze, said \u00a0most residents were woken by the gunshots as they ran out of their houses to seek refugee in parked buses, the gunmen opened fire on them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cJust take a look at that car parked there, the owner and his family in a bid to escape from the gunmen were caught by the gunmen and they were \u00a0set ablaze by the invaders. Is it not unfortunate, all these little children that they killed numbering over 20? What offence did they commit? What offence did they commit to deserve this treatment,\u201d Eze wondered.<\/span><\/p>\n Another eyewitness \u00a0who lost his family, \u00a0Mr. Jacob Okoro, said that when they heard the sporadic gunshots, they all ran out of their compounds. The gunmen, he said, shot at them killing all \u00a0members of his family.<\/span><\/p>\n He said \u201cWe were still sleeping when we heard gunshots \u00a0and people running and yelling. My family and I ran out \u00a0from the house to escape \u00a0into the bush but to our shock bullets were flying from all directions.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt is by the grace of God \u00a0that I am alive because I can not really say how I escaped death. As I\u2019m \u00a0talking now I have lost everything. Our compound that has about 32 persons, only 3 persons \u00a0escaped the bullets of the gunmen. When we ran out of the<\/span><\/p>\n house, we saw some young men and we were thinking that they were \u00a0also running for safety not knowing that they were part of the invasion.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n A man and his entire family were burnt inside their car. Hundreds of empty shells of AK47 littered the Ezillo axis of the Enugu-Abakaliki Express road yesterday while youths were busy searching for and \u00a0 retrieving corpses from nearby bushes.<\/span><\/p>\n Our correspondent \u00a0observed that the gunmen also killed donkeys, burnt down the Afor Ezillo Market, filling stations and houses. Residents who lost their loved ones wept uncontrollably.<\/span><\/p>\n The \u00a0State Commissioner of Police, Mr.Adeola Adeniyi, \u00a0described the incident as regrettable and unfortunate adding that the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Hafiz Ringim has approved the deployment of mobile policemen from Cross River, Rivers and Akwa Ibiom State to assist in Ebonyi.<\/span><\/p>\n