What a tragedy...

A widow and her three children were hacked to death on  Tuesday when gunmen invaded their residence at Sabon Gida Kanap,  Bukuru, Jos South Local Government,  Plateau State.

Our correspondent learnt  that the attack took place  at about 2am.

The incident occurred about eight hours before an unknown person  fired a gun-propelled rocket at  Nure Islamic High School at Angwan Kerena adjacent to  the Jos South Local Government secretariat. He missed  his  target but a seven-year-old-boy was reportedly  hit. The victim was said to be a bystander and not enrolled at the school where pupils  were studying for exams.

The man was said to have fled the scene before he could be apprehended.

The incident, which occurred  at about 10.15am threw residents of  Jos metropolis and Bukuru into panic.

The action was said to have angered the Hausa community who responded with gunfire.

The shooting were so intense that it reverberated in  Jos town, sending residents in different directions.

Parents rushed out immediately to pick  up their children from their  schools while traders hurriedly shut  their shops and fled.

A resident of the targeted area said a lone attacker “dressed in red” stood on the street outside the school and fired a heavy weapon.

“The missile deflected and hit the wall of the school, killing (the young person),” resident Murtala Abdullahi told AFP.

Police Public Relation Officer in the state,  Emmanuel Abuh, who confirmed the incident, said boy’s brain was blown off.

Also, the Media Officer of the Special Task Force, Capt. Salisu Mustapha, confirmed the development.

Mustapha said, “We realised that somebody parked his vehicle and targeted NureI Islamic  High School with an Improvised Explosive Device, he fired at the school and luckily he missed the target but most  unfortunately it hit a boy and he died.”

On the killing of the widow and her three children in   Sabon Gida Kanap, Mustapha said  it was a robbery incident.

He said,  “Early hours this morning we got reports that there was a robbery   on one house around General Area and there was exchange of fire between the perpetrators and our troops, arrest was not made and I don’t have the figures of the casualties.”