Student injured by stray bullet as chaos Erupts at Gatundu North MP’s event
A student was shot and injured by a stray bullet after violence broke out during a public event hosted by Gatundu North MP Elijah Kururia in Kiambu County on Tuesday evening.
The incident occurred at the former St. Francis Primary School grounds in Mang’u Location, where Kururia, accompanied by Thika Town MP Alice Ng’ang’a, had presided over the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the Mang’u Polytechnic and the proposed Gatukuyu Police Station.
According to police, the planned police station will be built adjacent to Stabex Petrol Station in Gatukuyu, with the exact acreage to be determined later.
The leaders also distributed blankets to senior citizens aged 80 years and above during the event, which attracted an estimated 2,000 people.
Police said chaos erupted during the distribution of foodstuffs and cash after one of the distributors allegedly pushed a man using crutches and struck a young man with a jembe handle. The incident angered a section of youths, who attempted to attack the distributor.
The distributor was rescued and locked inside a white Mitsubishi lorry, but the crowd became increasingly hostile and began pelting stones from all directions.
Police attempted to restore order, but the situation escalated, prompting police to fire warning shots into the air to disperse the rowdy crowd.
During the commotion, a student from St. Francis Girls High School, Mang’u was struck by a stray bullet in the right leg, just below the knee.
She was rushed to Avenue Hospital in Thika, where she was reported to be in stable condition. An X-ray revealed that the bullet was lodged in a muscle, and doctors recommended an emergency operation to remove it.
The event, which began at about 3:10 p.m., ended abruptly at around 7:00 p.m. following the violence.
Police have launched investigations into the incident. A team visited the scene on Wednesday as part of the probe. The student was still admitted to the hospital on Wednesday.