NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 22 – Detectives shot dead a suspected armed robber during a confrontation with police in the city’s Wangari Maathai Road area on Saturday evening after officers responding to a public tip-off encountered a group allegedly attacking civilians.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) said officers from the Nairobi North Sub-Region were on routine foot patrol near the Jubilee Flyover along Wangari Maathai Road at around 5.50pm when a member of the public alerted them to three armed men robbing pedestrians in the nearby Makaburini area.
Police said the officers moved discreetly toward the scene and soon encountered the suspects emerging from nearby bushland.
The men allegedly launched a sudden assault on one of the officers, with the lead attacker drawing a pistol and pointing it at police.
“In lawful self-defence and protection of the public, the officers opened fire. One suspect was fatally shot at the scene,” the DCI said.
The agency said two accomplices, believed to have been wounded, fled into nearby undergrowth.
Investigators recovered a Blow Mini 9 pistol from the scene, along with a magazine loaded with two rounds of 9mm ammunition and one round in the chamber.
Two additional rounds of 9mm ammunition were also found in the deceased suspect’s trouser pocket.
Officers from Starehe and Gigiri sub-counties, together with scenes-of-crime personnel, processed the scene before the body was moved to the Nairobi City Mortuary pending formal identification and a post-mortem examination.
Detectives said a manhunt was underway for the two remaining suspects and urged members of the public with information to contact the nearest DCI office or report anonymously through its toll-free hotline.