Eight armed robbers have shot and killed three people in the Ashanti Region in what authorities have described as a dramatic spectacle.

The notorious robbers also critically injured another person before escaping with a gold loot at Manso Dadease in the Mansie West District of the Ashanti Region Monday night.

“The nasty spectacle, akin to a movie scene, involved men on a shooting spree as the gang fled the scene of their robbery adventure,” state-owned Daily Graphic newspaper reported.

According to the newspaper, the Regional Police Command has mounted a vigorous search for the robbers who escaped with four pounds of refined gold and GH¢17,000 cash they snatched from a gold dealing shop.

Victims of the fatal shooting incident have been identified as Mr Emmanuel Osei, the personal driver of the Chief Executive of the Amansie West District, who was returning from an official programme; and Kwadwo Danso, 60, and a 25-year-old man only identified only as Osofo.

Their bodies have been deposited at the mortuary of the St Martin Hospital at Agroyesum, the same hospital where the injured person is receiving treatment.

Preliminary investigations indicate that the robbers — supposedly armed with four AK 47 assault rifles and three pump action guns — attacked a gold dealer shop known as PK Adom at Manso Dadease and took four pounds of gold and cash of GH¢17,000.

Police say the robbers started shooting at anyone in sight as they fled the scene with the loot, killing the three persons.

On Tuesday, the Regional Crime Officer, Assistant Commissioner of Police Felix Cosmos, led a team of investigators to the crime scene to start investigations.