A suspected robber was shot dead while his two accomplices escaped after a shootout with police officers on the night of Tuesday, June 28.
A report by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on Wednesday, June 29, indicated that the thugs were waylaid by the police officers after a robbery incident at the Trans-towers in South B, Nairobi.
The three individuals had attempted to rob the business premise before the police on patrol caught wind and launched a manhunt for them.
After an hour of frantic search by the officers, they decided to turn off their vehicle and lay in wait for the thugs to emerge. Which they did atop their motorbike.
"The three thugs approached and Kimanzi (one of the three police officers on patrol that night) put on the lights at full beam, exposing the dumbfounded thugs who struggled to keep the bike that had lost traction on the road.
"In the ensuing commotion, one of the thugs landed on the tarmac and quickly gathered himself up, while the rider struggled with the wobbling bike and the remaining thug," read the police statement in part.
The police then ordered the thugs to surrender but one opened fire at their car deflating its tyre prompting the officers to retaliate.
"This prompted a fierce shoot-out as the officers responded to the provocation with finality, fatally wounding the thug as his accomplices disappeared towards Shimo la Tewa slums," added the statement.
A browning pistol loaded with three rounds of ammunition was recovered from the miscreant.
Preliminary findings from tests carried out by ballistic experts at the DCI National Forensic laboratory have linked the firearm to a spate of armed attacks that have rocked areas of Buruburu, Pipeline and Embakasi in the recent past.
A manhunt has been launched for the two accomplices who escaped while the body of the deceased was transferred to the City mortuary pending identification.
Cases of robberies have been on the rise in Nairobi owing to the high cost of living as well as the rising political temperatures ahead of the upcoming elections.
