Michael Asante
A nine-year-old boy Wednesday night allegedly killed himself after he had accidently cocked his father’s gun.
The incident occurred at Green Container, a suburb of Ofankor in Accra.
The class four pupil is reported to have gotten hold of the pistol which was said to have been kept under a pillow on a bed in a shop owned by the boy’s parents.
Police Version
Confirming the incident to DAILY GUIDE yesterday, the Mile 7 Police Commander, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Peter Yembilla, said at about 5:00 pm on Wednesday, the Sowutuom police brought one Stephen Adomako, 31, to the station with a report that his son, Michael Asante, nine years old, had shot himself in the head with a locally manufactured pistol.
He said the deceased was with his siblings in the provision shop where there was a mattress the father had always been sleeping on, while the mother was also working outside.
DSP Yembilla stated that on hearing the sound of the gunshot, the mother rushed to the shop and discovered that the child was lifeless and lying in a pool of blood.
According to the Mile 7 Police Commander, the child was rushed to the hospital but was pronounced dead, adding that the police then proceeded to the scene and found Asante’s head blown up.
The body of the first of three children has since been deposited at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital awaiting autopsy.
Irony
DSP Yembilla stated that Adomako had alleged that two years ago, while he was sleeping in the shop, armed robbers attacked him with the pistol and a cutlass but on seeing a police patrol team, the robbers escaped, leaving the gun and the cutlass behind.
He intimated that Adomako rather handed over the cutlass to the police when he reported the incident, and kept the gun for himself, saying it was for self-protection.
Appeal
DSP Yembilla, for this reason, stated, ‘We are appealing to parents who have guns in their houses to keep such weapons away from the reach of children.’
He explained that children watch movies on television in which such weapons are used and so they tend to practise what they watch in the movies.
Illegal
DSP Yembilla further warned that it is also illegal to keep locally manufactured pistols without registering them.
The Mile 7 Police Commander averred that Amoako, who is now in police custody, is being kept for possessing firearms without lawful authority.
He will soon be arraigned before court.
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By Jeffrey De-Graft Johnson
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