APA-Banjul (The Gambia) A manhunt is underway after two personnel of the Anti-Crime Unit of Gambia’s police force were shot dead in an apparently unprovoked attack on Tuesday evening.
A statement put out by the police says a female officer was critically wounded following the shooting by a lone gunman dressed in white kaftan who approached his victims as they were manning a checkpoint at a busy roundabouts 16km southwest of the capital Banjul.
The suspect is reportedly armed and still at large.
“The Gambia Police Force deeply mourns the loss of PC Pateh Jallow and PC Sang J Gomez, who tragically lost their lives in the line of duty due to gunshot wounds. WPC Nancy Jawo is currently under medical care, with her condition deemed critical yet stable,” according to a police statement on Wednesday.
Police sources say, the shooter had approached the three anti-crime unit personnel and seemed to have engaged them in conversation before shots rang out.
It is still unknown what motivated the targeted killings but the incident has rekindled public misgivings about ‘lax security’ in The Gambia, where rising crime has been a challenge since President Adama Barrow came to power in 2017.
WN/as/APA