Shooting incident in CRR: 3 Senegalese officers involved

The police have mounted an investigation into a shooting incident involving three Senegalese customs officers in Yallal Samba village in the Niani district of the Central River Region, in which a three-year-old boy was  hit by a stray bullet, The Point has been reliably informed.

According to sources, the incident happened Monday afternoon when the three Senegalese customs officers from Kungel customs post on Senegal-Gambia border chased a suspected smuggler who ran into the Gambian territory.

“During this chase, the Senegalese customs officers on board a double-cabin pick-up fired a shot when the suspect entered Gambian territory, and accidentally the bullet hit a three-year-old boy at the back of his head,” a source at the scene told The Point.

When contacted for confirmation yesterday, ASP Yerro Mballow, spokesperson of the Gambia police force confirmed the incident, which he said happened on 23rd July at around 14:00hrs when the Senegalese officers were pursuing the suspected smuggler.

According to the police mouthpiece, during the incident, a stray bullet hit a boy who was sleeping in his mother’s house, causing him a minor injury at the back of his head.

“The matter was reported to the police who visited the scene and rushed the three-year-old boy to Kuntaur health centre, where he was treated and discharged,” Mballow told this paper.

Noting that the Senegalese customs officers fled the scene before the arrival of Gambian police officers, Mballow said the police are investigating the matter.

“There is no conclusion yet; we are investigating this matter,” he announced.

The police spokesperson appealed to the public especially those living around the border areas to give timely information to the police about unusual activities in their vicinity.