SNAKE KILLER FIRES INTO CROWD ...Injures four persons (MIRROR, PAGE 3

From Moses Dotsey Aklorbortu,
Takoradi

A middle-aged man playing a good Samaritan by attempting to kill a snake that had sought refuge in a neighbour’s kitchen with a hunter’s gun, has landed in serious trouble.
The man, Joseph Kwaw Onua, was called to assist kill the poisonous snake, which had coiled round a piece of firewood in the kitchen, at Anwia, a farming community near Teleku Bokazo in the Nzema East District in the Western Region. Some neighbours had refused to kill it because they said it was poisonous and therefore dangerous.
Onua, who did not know how to handle a gun, ended up firing a locally manufactured gun into curious onlookers, inflicting serious gun wounds on one adult and three children.
The snake, the object of the gunshot, escaped into the nearby bush.
According to an eyewitness who narrated the incident to The Mirror, Onua was offered a stick but it was not long enough for him to accomplish his mission. Consequently, the eye-witness said, a woman brought out a locally-manufactured gun belonging to a hunter, who was then not available to shoot the snake.
The witness explained that Onua’s first attempt to shoot at the snake, after he had loaded it with some pellets, did not work. In his bid to find out why the gun failed to click, he inadvertently fired into the crowd, injuring some of the onlookers.
The victims were rushed to Eikwe Hospital, while one of them, who was hit on the head, was transferred to the Effia-Nkwanta Regional Hospital in Sekondi for specialist attention. They are said to be responding to treatment.
The names of the victims were given as Master K. Daniel, 11, who was hit around the navel, Ms Rebecca Esidzo, 14, who got wounded in her ribs, Sarah, 34, sustained injuries on her right shoulder and Mary Ackah, 10, who was hit on the head.
In the melee, the snake eventually escaped into the bush.
According to the police, the bullets spread, hitting four people at a time.
A police source said it would have been more fatal, if it were at a close range and warned that people should be very careful in handling weapons, especially guns.
Onuah, who looked perplexed over the incident, is currently in police custody, helping with investigations.
When contacted, the Axim District Commander, Mr D. Ohene-Gyan, confirmed the story and said the hunter was currently in police custody and urged people in the various communities to clear the bushes around their homes to prevent reptiles coming into their homes.