One person has been confirmed dead while a military officer has been injured after two gunmen opened fire on a Kumasi-Tamale-bound bus in the Denase Township in the Afigya Kwabre District of the Ashanti region.
Police suspect the two AK-47-wielding men trailed the Toyota minibus from its Adehyie Market station to the spot near the local Church of Pentecost building before firing indiscriminately at the bus.
Police suspect the attack may be linked to the ongoing Bawku conflict.
The deceased has been identified as Abiola, but the injured military officer is yet to be identified.
Police picked up both the Ghana card and health insurance card of the deceased at the scene.
Crime scene investigators from the Ashanti North Regional Police Command picked up fourteen spent shells at the scene.
Ashanti North Regional Police Commander DCOP Prince Jude Cobbinah, who confirmed the incident to Myjoyonline.com, said the armed men, one on each side of the road, opened fire on the Tamale-bound bus at about 9 p.m. on Thursday.
He said the attackers opened fire immediately after the driver slowed down at a speed hump in Denase in front of the local Church of Pentecost.
The driver, upon sensing danger, lowered his head to escape the onslaught.
The deceased, who was seated on the seat behind the driver, was hit by the bullets.
The military officer who was in the passenger seat at the front side of the bus was hit by the assailants.
According to DCOP Cobbinah, the driver mustered courage and sped off to the St. Patrick Catholic Hospital in Offinso, where the deceased was pronounced dead on arrival.
The shooting incident, which occurred near the Denase lorry station, saw bystanders running helter-skelter for their own lives.
This has prompted police to launch a manhunt for the assailants as security is beefed up in the area.
Ohemeng Tawiah
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