A 43-year-old Chinese National whose name has been withheld for security reasons is in the custody of the Nkawkaw Police for accidentally discharging a firearm that hit an eight-year-old boy at Kwahu Apradang in the Eastern Region.

According to preliminary investigations from the police, the suspect was repairing the firearm when it accidentally fired towards the direction of the young boy, hitting him in the process.

The boy who sustained some injuries was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he’s currently responding to treatment.

“He was repairing the pump action gun, and it was pointing at the direction of the eight-year-old boy, and the gun accidentally went off, hitting the boy. As we speak, he [the boy] is in stable condition and is responding to treatment,” the Eastern Regional Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ebenezer Tetteh, said to Citi News.

DSP Tetteh also called on residents in the area to remain calm and trust the police to investigate the incident thoroughly.

“We want to assure them that nothing will be done to shield him, so everybody should remain calm,” he said.

Some angry residents had besieged the Chinese national’s residence, “but the police were able to, through diplomacy and persuasion, talk to the crowd, and he was quickly whisked away.”

Police also noted that the gun of the Chinese national was not registered.