A suspect who shot a police officer before making away with his AK47 rifle was killed in a fierce shootout with the police nine months after the incident.
According to a report issued by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI)on Saturday, August 15, police officers gunned down the suspects along the Koma-Kenal Highway.
DCI reported that they had received a tip-off of a gang that had been terrorising residents in Mashokani Area, Matungulu sub-county.
Acting on the intelligence, they mounted a roadblock and waited for the suspects. However, when they flagged down the vehicle, the occupants opened fire indiscriminately at the officers.
"The suspects were cruising in a Toyota Harrier when detectives flagged them down. Instead of surrendering, the gang opened fire, turning the highway into a scene of gunfire.
Read More
"Detectives returned fire, triggering a fierce shootout in which one suspect, armed with an AK-47, was fatally wounded," the statement read in part.
However, his accomplice, who had a pistol, managed to escape on foot from the scene. The police have launched a manhunt for him and promised to bring him to book.
Meanwhile, an analysis of the weapon recovered from the site revealed that the rifle was stolen from an administration police officer in November 2025.
"During that attack, three armed men accosted the officer while he was guarding a residence in Athi River. They shot him on the chest and both legs before escaping with his AK-47 rifle, loaded with 30 rounds of ammunition, and his mobile phone," the statement continued.
Police further recovered eight mobile phones, four balaclavas, crowbars and torches from the suspects' vehicle.
The body of the fallen thug was ferried to the Kangundo Level IV Hospital mortuary awaiting a post-mortem.
Detectives have expanded the investigation to establish the extent of the criminal activities of the gang and unravel its wider criminal network.
The DCI urged members of the public who have information that could lead to the arrest of the suspect to share it through their phone number, promising to maintain their anonymity.
