A 14-year-old boy has been confirmed dead in Aboabo in the Asokore Mampong Municipality of the Ashanti Region during a fire festival.
Masawudu Abdul-Aziz died after a stray bullet reportedly hit him during the display of magical prowess by the celebrants who fired muskets amid chanting, dancing, and lighting of fire.
Two other persons have reportedly sustained gunshot wounds in the process.
The deceased’s Uncle, Muaz Abdul-Baki, said, “My wife called me last night to inform me that the boy attended the ceremony and had been hit by a stray bullet, so I quickly moved there and confirmed it was true. He was lying in a pool of blood when I got there.”
“So we reported to the police and took him to the morgue with them after they took some pictures and observed a few things. We were there this morning, too, but the commander has directed his men to go to the accident scene to undertake an investigation,” he told Citi News.
The fire festival, also called Bugum Festival, is celebrated annually among the people of Dagbon, Mamprugu, and the Nanumba ethnic groups to mark a historical event on the Mole-Dagbon calendar.
People who have migrated from the north and live in the southern part of the country come out to celebrate the festival yearly.