They said this led to the escape of some of the suspects.
Two members of a six-armed robbery gang were gunned down by the police at Santasi a suburb of Kumasi on Tuesday.
This was after the robbers had engaged the police in a shootout.
The police were following up on intelligence that the group was planning an attack on some residents in the city.
Police accosted them, resulting in a gun battle at about 6:45 pm on Tuesday.
Not even the sounds of rifles scared the residents who came out boldly in their numbers to witness the shootout.
Deputy Ashanti Regional Commander, DCOP David Agyemang Adjem the presence of the residents limited the police’s movement in that operation.
“It did greatly affect us because but for that, we would have been able to arrest the ones who were fleeing but because there were too many persons there, we could not do what was expected of us,” he said.
DCOP Adjem wants the public to refrain from interfering in such operations in the future since it could be dangerous for them.
“If you hear gunshots, please stay where you are and take cover rather come out because a stray bullet can easily hit you. We are lucky that none of them was injured in the shootout,” he said.
That notwithstanding, two members of the robbery gang were gunned down by the team after about 15-minutes of a gun battle.
Their bullet-ridden bodies and the black BMW car they were using was sent to the Ashanti regional police headquarters.
DCOP Adjem said the group is linked to car snatching and robbery in the region.
They are alleged to have carried out the Manso Dadease robbery incident in which a gold dealer was the target.
Three persons including the driver of CEO for Amansie South, Williams Asante Bediako were killed by the robbers.
