West Point Township Looted
Several private homes and businesses in the township of West Point were looted Tuesday night following hours of sporadic shooting and the used of tear gas reportedly by officers of the Emergency Response Unit (ERU) of the Liberia National Police.
No death has been reported, but scores of people were injured in the process, while several properties were damaged in the township when some unscrupulous individuals went on the looting spree, taking advantage of the situation.
Some victims spoken to accused ERU personnel, who went to the township to collect ballot boxes in the aftermath of the Tuesday run-off presidential election boycotted by the opposition Congress for Democratic Change of being responsible for the nightmare.
According to the residents, the melee started when the ERU went into the township to collect ballot boxes in Tuesday poll and saw some young people in a gathering discussing the elections boycott and the conveying of ballot boxes in ERU vehicles instead of NEC.
“This did not go down well with the ERU officers who felt they were being targeted by the gathering predominantly made of young people, presumably CDCians in the township discussing electoral matter. This prompted the ERU to have started sporadic shooting, leaving residents panicking as well as running helter shelter,” said Martha Swen, a resident of the area.
Another resident, Joe Wiah, stated that because of the heavy shooting, angry residents threw stones at the ERU officers, who then responded with tear-gas causing residents to have sleeplessness night.
