NPR officer shot dead in Mandera County, AK-47 recovered as suspect arrested

FILE IMAGE OF A POLICE LINE

A National Police Reservist (NPR) officer was shot dead in Mandera County, with police recovering an AK-47 rifle believed to have been used in the killing.

The incident occurred early Tuesday, August 25, 2026, at Bambo village in Ashabito Sub-County, police said.

Police responded to the scene, where they found a man lying outside a house in a pool of blood.

The victim, identified as 32-year-old Nassir Hussein Mursal, had sustained a gunshot wound to the lower abdomen.

He was rushed to Ashabito Level 3 Hospital for emergency treatment but was pronounced dead on arrival.

Police later established that Mursal was an NPR officer attached to Ashabito Sub-County. He was reportedly off duty at the time of the shooting.

Investigators recovered an AK-47 assault rifle from the scene, with its serial number inscribed in Arabic characters.

The firearm was loaded with a magazine containing 21 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition. One spent cartridge was also recovered, further pointing to the use of the rifle in the shooting.

Police arrested a suspect who was detained at the Bambo Security Operation Camp as investigations continued.

The suspect is expected to assist investigators in establishing the circumstances surrounding the shooting and how the firearm came to be in his possession.

Police said the motive for the killing remained unknown.

The scene was revisited by officers from the National Police Service, who collected the firearm, ammunition and other potential evidence as investigations into the incident continued.

The killing comes amid longstanding security challenges in parts of Mandera, where illegal firearms have remained a concern because of cross-border movement of weapons and the activities of armed groups operating in the wider region.

Authorities are expected to establish whether the recovered rifle was legally held, how it was acquired and whether the weapon may have been linked to other incidents.

Investigations into the killing are ongoing.