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A tragic shooting at a naming ceremony in Gbawe Zero, a suburb of Accra, claimed the life of 33-year-old Pearl Naa Dodoowa Whitaker, a mother of two who was recently enstooled as a queenmother. Her stool name was Naa Agyinafo I of Papaase, a community along the Accra-Nsawam road. She was awaiting her coronation.
The incident occurred on the evening of Thursday, June 19, 2025, during a naming ceremony hosted by Nii Ayi Solomon, also known privately as Ibrahim Ayi Kwashie Solomon. Another woman who sustained gunshot wounds is currently receiving treatment at the University of Ghana Hospital.
According to the Odorkor Divisional Police Commander, ACP Kofi Sarpong, the shooting happened around 7 p.m. He stated that the chief reported the incident after stepping outside to see off a guest and returning to find two women lying on the ground with gunshot wounds.
Eyewitness Mary Hammond, a close friend of the deceased, recounted that Pearl had just returned from escorting a caterer and was sitting beside her when gunshots suddenly rang out. She saw Pearl fall to the ground, bleeding from the head, with another woman nearby also hit.
Ms. Hammond mentioned that there had been musket firing earlier in the ceremony by some young men but could not identify where the fatal shots came from or who fired them.
The police have since launched an investigation and taken the chief into custody to assist with inquiries. The death has shocked the local community, especially as the deceased was soon to be officially presented to the public as queenmother.
