A 28-year-old security guard has been arrested after he allegedly shot and killed 18-year-old student Deo Ogen.
Ogen, a student of Omoro Ber Vocational School in Pece-Laroo Division, Gulu City, was reportedly shot dead around 4:42 AM on Sunday by Solomon Oyuru, a security guard working with Exposs Security Ltd at GASCO Fuel station in Bardege-Layibi Division.
Preliminary reports suggest that Ogen, along with four others, allegedly accessed the fuel station with a matchbox. In response, the security guard fired a single shot, hitting Ogen in the head and killing him instantly. Police recovered the gun used by the suspect, loaded with ammunition, along with matchboxes and a plastic water bottle containing waragi.
Aswa West River Region Police Spokesperson David Ongom Mudong called for calm as investigations continue to determine whether the shooting was justified.
Bardege-Layibi Division Mayor Patrick Oola Lumumba, who visited the crime scene, stated that the deceased and accomplices had been drinking and threatened to burn down the fuel station before the shooting occurred.
Lumumba emphasized that although the security guard was tasked with protecting the premises, he should have fired a warning shot instead.
The deceased’s body was taken to Gulu Regional Referral Morgue for postmortem, while the suspect remains in custody as investigations proceed.