Unknown gunmen Thursday morning struck in the serene Enugu state capital, the Coal City and reportedly shot and killed two police men at a checkpoint close to the MTD area of Garriki, Enugu South local area of the state.
The gunmen, who were said to be masked, allegedly accosted the police men who were on duty at a checkpoint where they were doing stop and search of motorists and individuals and engaged them in a shootout and eventually overpowered the security officers who lost two men at the end of the crossfire.
The incident, Blueprint gathered, has sent shock waves and fear in the area following a similar incident that took place on Saturday night at Akwuke, not too far from Garriki Market and MTD police station, where a pregnant woman and a vigilante were gunned down by unknown gunmen at a drinking joint.
It was gathered that as a result of the incident that took place around ten in the morning, residents and traders ran in confused directions not knowing what could befall them in the ensuing melee.
People, who were already on their way to markets, work place quickly ran for safety, to avoid a possible untimely death.
“When we had gun shots and learnt that some police men and some others were attacked and killed, we ran into different directions. My wife who was on her way to the market ran back to the house.
“Just the other day three people were shot in Akwuke and two died at the spot while the third person sustained gunshot injury and is now in the hospital. Fear has gripped everybody in our area,” a resident, Okechukwu Igwe said.
The Enugu state Police PRO, Daniel Ndukwe, acknowledged that there was shooting but could not specifically state if there were police casualties.
“Yes, I learnt that masked gunmen fired gunshots there (MTD area) this morning, but I can’t confirm if any policeman was killed.”
