Police shoot child, mother in bid to rescue driver who knocked pupil dead
The Aswa River Region Police Spokesperson Jimmy Patrick Okema addressing journalists recently. PHOTO BY JULIUS OCUNGI
What you need to know:
- Mr Wilfred Odiya Baguma, the LC3 chairperson, Atiak Sub-county faulted the police for what he describes as using excessive force on the locals who posed no harm to police officers.
A four-month-old girl and her 36-year-old mother are nursing injuries at St Mary’s Hospital Lacor in Gulu Town after being shot by anti-riot Police officers in Amuru District.
The toddler and her mother were reportedly shot about 100 meters away from Atiak Police Station in Atiak Trading Centre, Atiak Sub-county yesterday morning as police fired live bullets and teargas to disperse protestors.
Angry locals had stormed Atiak Police Station to lynch a truck driver who sought refuge after knocking dead Emmanuel Oyerwot, a primary five pupil of Mary Mother of God earlier in the morning.
The truck with Kenyan registration number KBR 363P was being driven from Pabbo Town Council to Elegu Town Council at the Uganda-South Sudan Border.
READ:
Police fire bullets, teargas to rescue Kenyan truck driver from angry mob
Residents turned rowdy and wanted to lynch the driver who had reportedly knocked a pupil dead in Amuru District
Police identified the young girl as Gifty Amarorwot who sustained gunshot injuries on her right foot while her mother Jennifer Akech sustained injuries on her lower abdomen.
The Aswa River Region Police spokesperson, Mr Jimmy Patrick Okema, confirmed the incident in a telephone interview yesterday.
He noted that as police, they regret the incidence saying it was an unprofessional act by a police officer yet to be identified.
“What happened wasn’t intentional and not a character of the police as an institution. There are however some unprofessional officers who misused their guns during the process of crowd management,” Mr Okema said.
Mr Wilfred Odiya Baguma, the LC3 chairperson, Atiak Sub-county faulted the police for what he describes as using excessive force on the locals who posed no harm to police officers. “The baby and her mother were shot in the open by a police officer just 100 metres away from Atiak Police Station. The locals were peaceful but got angered after police officers fired directly into the crowd,” Mr Baguma said.
