The Ashanti regional highway patrol team of the Ghana Police Service Friday dawn gunned down a suspected armed robber at Pasuro, a village near Adankwame in the Atwima Nwabiagya District.
The unidentified robber and his accomplices, using a taxi were said to have engaged the police in a shoot-out leading to his death while his colleagues managed to escape.
The body of the man had been deposited at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital mortuary after it was shown to journalists at the regional police headquarters.
According to the head of the Public Affairs Unit of the regional police command, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Yusif Mohammed Tanko, the incident happened at about 5.30am.
ASP Tanko stated in a press release that the armed robbers who were on board a Toyota Corolla taxi with registration number AS 787-10 approached the police checkpoint at Tweapease, a notorious robbery area within the district. Atwima Nwabiagya with Nkawie as the capital is close to Kumasi.
On reaching the checkpoint, policemen on duty were said to have signalled them to stop but they ignored the signal.
Police became suspicious about their refusal to stop and pursued them.
�They were pushed towards Tabre but the armed criminals turned towards Mankranso township on a very top speed,� ASP Tanko said.
The robbers again turned towards Adankwame but the patrol team closed in on them. Sensing danger, the armed men opened gun fire on the police, forcing the police to return fire.
In the midst of the exchange of gunfire, the deceased was hit.
The vehicle then ran into a ditch and when the police got to the scene, one man was dead in it while the rest escaped.
Police found in the accident taxi, one locally made pistol, three empty cartridges, coils of electrical cables, a pinch bar, two cutters, two pairs of pliers and a broken hammer.
Meanwhile police are investigating the incident.
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