POLICE say 141 Solwezi residents were gassed by unknown people last Thursday.
According to police spokesperson Esther Mwaata Katongo, the gassing happened in Manyama and Lumwana East areas.
The incidents which began Chingola on the Copperbelt have caused fear and panic in the Sowlezi with residents resorting to riots.
But Deputy Inspector General of Police In-Charge of Administration Eugene Sibote has warned members North -Western Province not to take the law into their own hands.
Katongo revealed that yesterday, some members of the community in Kisasa blocked the Solwezi – Mwinilunga Road with logs and in the process damaged the screen of a bus belonging to Power Tools when word went round that individuals believed to be behind the spate of gasing people at night were in the area.
According to Mwaata, Sibote who is in the area rushed to the scene of the incident in Kisasa with a team of police officers to calm the situation and managed to apprehend more than 30 people.
“We shall not allow lawlessness to prevail anywhere including here in Kalumbila District. People should not be misled by the images appearing on social media circulated by a few individuals who are bent to instil fear in the innocent citizens. Police will deal with all those involved decisively,” Sibote warned.
He assured the community of adequate police presence in the district and that all suspected individuals should be reported to the police unlike committing crimes by taking the law into their own hands.
The people apprehended in Kisasa are yet to be charged.
