Police officers attached to Kisumu Central Police Station on Tuesday arrested two suspects following a dramatic speed chase along Obote Road.
According to a police report, four armed men, who are part of a notorious gang that terrorised the area residents, devised a plan to rob a woman who had just left a nearby bank.
The plan, however, failed to materialise after the woman raised an alarm, alerting the law enforcers who were on patrol.
In response, the officers rushed to her aid and demanded the suspects to surrender.
Reluctant to cooperate with the orders, the suspects dashed into a standby vehicle, a black Toyota Ractis and sped off. The officers embarked on their vehicle and followed in hot pursuit while ordering the suspects to stop.
In retaliation, the four armed men fired shots towards the police, aiming to evade the pursuit. Police stated that the gang also turned towards Kicomi's direction in an attempt to divert the police chase.
However, the police called for backup and were able to corner the armed men. After firing several shots in the air, one of the officers aimed for the car and deflated two tires, bringing the chase to a halt.
Nonetheless, two suspects jumped out of the car and scampered for safety, leaving two others stranded inside the car. The duo, upon learning that the cops had surrounded them, opened fire once again, but the police retaliated by shooting one of them in the hip.
The other suspect was pinned down by the cops and detained at Kisumu Central Police Station, as the injured suspect was rushed to Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching & Referral Hospital (JOOTRH) for treatment but under the watchful eye of detectives.
Members of the public, who had gathered at the scene owing to the dramatic chase, wanted to lynch the suspects and burn the vehicle, but the police officers intervened and restored order.
Two toy pistols were recovered from the vehicle, and extra number plates were discovered hidden in the car boot.
Preliminary investigations established that the genuine number plate was found in the boot, and the one on the car was planted.
Detectives attached to the Crime Scene Investigations (CSI) unit visited and processed the scene for fingerprint analysis. They also launched investigations to locate and arrest the rest of the notorious gang members prior to arraigning the suspects in court.
