One of the six armed robbers, who reportedly attacked residents of Ndungu Kebbeh Village in the North Bank Region in the wee hours of Monday, has been pronounced dead.

The armed robber, suspected to be a Senegalese, reportedly sustained a fatal injury to the head, apparently caused by a shot fired during the dark hours of the night. The deceased’s full identity was yet to be established as we went to press last night.

According to reports reaching the Daily Observer, the other five bandits escaped the wrath of the villagers by running to the bush as they fled the deadly onslaught launched against them. At least one of the escapees was said to have sustained injuries, as there traces of blood leading to the main road.

Eyewitnesses told the Daily Observer that the gang struck  between 2:00 am and 3:00 am, and was armed with double barrel rifles. They reportedly attacked a compound belonging to one Alhaji Ebrima Bah in the village. According to our sources, the armed robbers broke into Bah’s dwelling house at around 3:00 am and held him at gun point, demanding money.

“Mr Bah told the armed robbers that he had no money with him and they [the armed robbers] went ahead to ransack the house. But they found no money there and started hitting Mr Bah on his head. He cried out for help and the villagers appeared in large numbers and launched a counterattack. The armed robbers then started firing. It was this conflict that led to the death of one armed robber and another one also got wounded,” sources told the Daily Observer.

Sources also informed the Daily Observer that Alhaji Ebrima Bah was rushed to Essau Health Centre near Barra that same night to receive treatment.

Meanwhile, top officials from the Gambia Police Force (GPF), led by the Inspector General Ensa Badjie, visited the crime scene on Monday afternoon, and held talks with the villagers.

The IGP was accompanied by Famara Jallow, the commissioner of Operations, Yankuba Sonko, the crime management coordinator and ASP Sulayman Secka, the public relations officer of GPF.

When contacted, ASP Sulayman Secka confirmed their visit to the scene. ASP Secka added that they found out that the attackers were armed with double barrel guns (known in Mandinka parlance as Karrtouso), adding that they also found three cartridges - one of which had been used.

“The dead body was taken to the RVTH Mortuary and no identity card or document was found with the corpse, but we found Senegalese currency (CFA coins) in his pockets,” the police spokesperson told the Daily Observer.

ASP Secka also confirmed the escape of five armed robbers, but was quick to note that the police investigations are already in progress.

For his part, Edward Seckan, the governor of NBR, who was also present at the scene, said in the past, armed robbers used to attack Kerr Pateh and Kerr Samba Yassin villages in the North Bank Region, but the attacks had reduced drastically in those areas since the creation of a PIU camp in Kerewan.