A 24-year-old Ghanaian man who allegedly shot his mother and sister in Worcester, Massachusetts, on Friday was arrested after a 13-hour standoff with the police. The Worcester Police Department said it responded to a distress call at a residence on Colby Avenue at 8.30 am Friday but when its officers arrived at the scene, the suspect, identified as Kwabena Amoateng, had fled the scene.
The police officers found the suspect outside the residence carrying a handgun and tried several times to persuade him to leave the residence. Amoateng however started firing at the officers and quickly returned to the house where the shooting occurred. After the police officers confirmed that the victims were out of the house and the suspect was alone, they set up a perimeter around the house, Boston 25 News reported. The Worcester Police Department also deployed several teams, including SWAT Team, K9 Unit, Hostage Negotiation Team, drone operators, and a Mobile Crisis mental health clinician.
In a standoff that lasted thirteen hours, the police officers tried to persuade the suspect to surrender but he refused, firing his handgun at the officers several times while the officers returned fire. At around 9:30 p.m., the suspect finally took a step out of the rear of the home and was arrested with the help of the K9 unit.
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The suspect and his victims who were all injured were sent to the hospital for treatment. It is unclear the motive behind the crime but the suspect was scheduled to appear in court on Monday, July 10, to answer serious charges relating to the incident.
Amoateng is reported to be a former student of Wenchi Senior High School in Ghana and was living in Worcester with his family before the incident occurred.
Every day, on average, 316 people in America are shot in murders, assaults, suicides and suicide attempts, unintentional shootings, and police intervention, according to figures by Team Enough.
