No live bullets were fired, students collapsed because of shock – Police on Kumasi Islamic SHS shooting

A spokesperson of the Ministry of Education has denied reports of police officers firing live ammunition to disperse students of the Kumasi Islamic Senior High School on Monday, June 13, 2022.

The students on Monday caused heavy traffic on the stretch of a road passing in front of their school after embarking on a protest to register their displeasure about the state of the road leading to multiple pedestrian knockdowns involving teachers and students.

The police who were called in to disperse the protesting students resorted firing warning shots to disperse the students with earlier reports indicating that the police fired live bullets at the students.

Speaking to the media after some 20 students who fell unconscious were rushed to the hospital, Yaw Opoku Mensah, a spokesperson of the Ministry of Education confirmed that the police did not fire any live bullets.

According to him, the students who fell unconscious did so out of shock following the incident.

“There is nothing like a live gunshot. Per the police response, it was the result of the reactions of the students. There wasn’t any firing of live bullets. I haven’t seen that. I haven’t had briefing of any live gunshot in there.

“The students that were sent to the hospital were only as a result of the shock where they’ve seen numerous police officers trooping to their campus. That resulted to them collapsing,” he told a Joynews correspondent.

Meanwhile, hoards of parents have massed up at the entrance of the Kumasi Islamic SHS and are demanding access to their children.

According to the concerned parents, they want to be sure of the safety of their wards.

Posted by: Emmanuel Romeo Tetteh