Tuesday, November 23: 4:10pm : Nyanza police commander Karanja Muiruri has confirmed that the four armed robbers in the Kisumu bank heist have escaped.
2:55 pm: Nyanza police commander Karanja Muiruri has announced that their operation to stop a heist at a Kisumu city bank has been delayed after robbers inside the bank lobbed teargas on the cops.
Muiruri noted that an initial observation showed that the teargas canisters did not belong to the police and a probe was ongoing to establish the source of the same. The mission was further complicated after the robbers captured hostages who are also holed in the bank.
Nyanza police boss however, refuted to state the number of thugs inside the bank as well as the number of hostages.
He urged residents within the bank to clear within the bank's radius in order to avoid any tragedies as the men are armed and dangerous.
As at the time of publishing, the exchange of fire between the thugs and the cops had lasted around four hours.
___________________________________________________________________________________
There was a standoff at a commercial bank in Kisumu City on Tuesday, November 23, after suspected robbers attempted to forcefully gain entry.
In a video seen by Kenyans.co.ke, police officers are seen firing in the air and giving orders to terrified bankers and onlookers as they tried to counter the robbery.
The police officers ordered the onlookers and passersby to lie flat on their bellies as they tried to identify and capture the robbers.
{"preview_thumbnail":"/files/styles/video_embed_wysiwyg_preview/public/video_thumbnails/GTj2dpVX6_I.jpg?itok=3BeXENk9","video_url":"","settings":{"responsive":1,"width":"854","height":"480","autoplay":0},"settings_summary":["Embedded Video (Responsive)."]}
The officers were also seen directing traffic as they tried to stabilise the situation.
By the time of going to press, the commercial bank had not shared any details of the foiled robbery even as police are yet to issue a statement on whether the suspected robbers had been apprehended.
According to media reports, four armed robbers had attempted to raid the facility but were countered by the quick action of police who arrived minutes later.
In yet another video, police officers are seen ordering everyone who came out of the bank to lie down in a bid to contain the situation and thwart any efforts by the robbers to pose as victims.
Reinforcement of police officers arrived at the scene totalling to at least 30 by the time of publishing this article.
Led by Nyanza Regional Police Commander Karanja Muiruri, the police aimed at restoring order along the busy street.
Uncovering how the robbers gained entry, reports indicated that they disguised themselves as customers and threw a teargas canister on the floor- which prompted some of the customers and staff to escape the premises.
Eye witnesses along the area alerted the police which led to a dispatch of four police vehicles at the scene.
