There was tension and confusion on Tuesday evening in Nairobi's populous business district of Eastleigh when a lone gunman opened fire at Yare Towers.
In videos seen by Kenyans.co.ke, the man can be seen drawing his gun and firing at least three bullets before getting into a waiting car and driving away.
Chaos and panic followed as people scampered for safety. Businesses operating in the area were forced to close as fear gripped the air.
The man is said to have fired three rounds, with a stray bullet landing on a mobile phone on display at the mall. No injuries were reported at the time of publishing this piece.
Property of unknown value is said to have been damaged and lost during the melee that followed the gunshots.
Just before the shooting, images and videos obtained by Kenyans.co.ke showed the man being surrounded by people who kept shouting at him to draw his weapon.
This happened while he seemed to be focused on his phone as the voices grew louder, encouraging him to draw his gun.
"Draw your gun, draw it," voices in the over-one-minute video could be heard encouraging him in the background.
Soon after, he drew his gun, a pistol of an unidentified model, and shot into the air after hanging on one side of a Land Cruiser.
What was not immediately clear was whether there had been an argument before and how exactly those who had surrounded him knew he had a gun hoisted on his waist.
Reports indicate that after firing the shots, the man boarded a nearby Land Cruiser and sped off, accompanied by several unidentified individuals who also entered the vehicle before it drove away.
Detectives from Eastleigh North Police Station have since launched investigations to unravel the motive behind the dramatic shooting.
Authorities are yet to issue an official statement on the circumstances surrounding the incident, raising further concern given that Eastleigh is one of the areas where the government has invested heavily in security and intelligence operations.
