By: Amara Thoronka
In the busy hours of Thursday, September 21st, at the central business area of Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, a military personnel gunned down a man identified as Foday Alieu, also known as Big Fish.
According to the initial statement from the Sierra Leone Police, Foday is reported to have “approached and snatched the rifle of a female police officer who was deployed at UBA Bank at Charlotte Street in Freetown, and started firing at random.”
The police reported that Alieu was repeatedly urged to cease firing and drop the rifle, but he ignored these pleas. Due to the fact that all attempts to persuade Alieu to stop firing and surrender the weapon proved unsuccessful, and because he posed a “legitimate threat to public safety,” he was shot and killed by a “brave military officer.”
His body was transported to the morgue, while a pedestrian who sustained a gunshot wound to the head was taken to the hospital for medical treatment.
In a viral video depicting the incident, individuals indoors can be heard celebrating and offering praise to the military personnel who took down Big Fish. They asserted that this action prevented the potential loss of numerous lives.
Police describe Alieu as a “notorious armed robber and violent thug”.
