Police shoot and injured over 20 Islamic SHS student demonstrators

New reports available to Ghana Education News indicate officers of the Ghana Police Police shot and injured over 20 Islamic SHS student demonstrators when the students clashed with the law enforcement officers.  Earlier reports indicated the police had fire tear gas leading to the collapse of students.

The officers were deployed to the School to maintain law and order following a student demonstration over the death of a teacher who was knocked down by a car.

The students blocked the Abrepo Junction-Barekese road to protest pedestrian knockdowns involving students and teachers of the school.

Angry students massed up on the road in protest, as they called for the construction of speed rumps on that section of the road.

Reports indicate there was vehicular and human traffic on that stretch for more than an hour before the Police were called in to clear the road.

READ: Breaking: Teacher dead, Kumasi Islamic SHS students clash with police

Academic work has been grounded as parents frequent the school to check on their wards, amid heavy security.

Police shoot and injured over 20 Islamic SHS student demonstrators: Interview Update

In an interview with JoyNews few minutes after the incident, a Spokesperson of the Education Ministry, Eric Opoku Mensah, said efforts are underway to bring the situation under control.

He added that the Regional Director of Education is following up with the matter to ensure all students admitted at the hospital are well catered for and safe.

“We’ve spoken to parents to remain calm; we have given them the assurance that any student found in this School is well. We are protecting them; we are ensuring that those that were taken to the hospital are safe – some have been brought back.

“We will engage the Urban Roads Directorate to ensure that some markings would be done on the road immediately. Even if that is done, that wouldn’t be an antidote to an accident occurring but again, we need to educate and advise our drivers who ply this road to be cautious when getting to a school junction,” he said.

Meanwhile, the National Ambulance Service has pegged the number of victims admitted to hospital, at 25.

Regional Director of the Service, Sommit Duut, says all the victims are responding to treatment.

He, however, stressed that they have not treated any traumatic injury like that of gunshot wounds.

According to him, the students rather suffered respiratory distress.

“All that we treated were just difficulty in breathing and people who were exhausted – we didn’t have any bloody situation.

“They [victims] are doing very well, they are responding to treatment; all of them are fine. As of now, we’ve not had any negative feedback from the hospital.”