The Liberia National Police have forwarded to court a 27-year-old man identified as Patrick Kollie, a resident of the Police Academy Community and an employee of the Executive Protective Service (EPS) in connection to the shooting incident that took place on July 4, 2022, at the Police Academy Junction that left an unarmed civilian dead.
During police preliminary investigation, it was established that while suspect Patrick Kollie was on his way to his Police Academy residence, he came across some alleged attackers who tried to molest him, thereby impeding his movement.
The investigation further revealed that while the argument was ongoing between the suspect and the alleged attackers, Agent Kollie went into his parked vehicle and took his assigned arm, 9MM Norinco pistol with serried number LR/EPS/409730767.
Accordingly, the investigation established that when the alleged aggressors realized that suspect Patrick Kollie was in possession of a firearm, they took to their heels and passed by an approaching motorbike.
The investigation established that while the alleged Criminals were passing by an approaching motorbike, suspect Kollie fired a round behind the aggressors, thus hitting deceased Valentine T. Johnson above his left eye and exited behind his head, leaving him unconscious and subsequently pronounced dead by the doctor on call at the John F. Kennedy Medical Center.
Additionally, a Police statement said when suspect Kollie realized that he hit the wrong person, he immediately absconded.
Suspect Kollie admitted to discharging a firearm and further said that he was attacked by a group of alleged Criminals who wanted to take his assigned arm. He added that in the process, the arm got discharged thereby hitting a civilian who was riding an approaching motorbike.
The investigation also established that the shooter’s action clearly shows that he was in flagrant violation of rule 4 of the basic firearm cardinal rule that states, “Beware of your target and what is beyond your target”.
Police say in view of the foregoing and circumstances surrounding the death of deceased Valentine T. Johnson, coupled with physical evidence (9mm Norinco pistol) adduced as well as eyewitness accounts, the investigation has resolved to charge Suspect Patrick Kollie with the crime of Murder which is in violation of Chapter 14, section 14.1 of the penal code of the Republic of Liberia and forwarded to court for prosecution.
