A firearm that was violently robbed from the Officer Commanding Vihiga Police Station when a criminal gang attacked him while on patrol on December 21, 2023 was recovered in Mwiki, Kasarani sub-county.
One member of the gang from whose possession the Jericho pistol was recovered was also shot and killed after daring a gunfight with the police team that was trailing them.
Police said the suspects defied a stop order and led police officers on a high-speed chase from Eastlands all the way to the Mwikoko area where the getaway vehicle reportedly got stuck in mud.
In the ensuing shootout, one suspect was shot dead, while two of his accomplices fled.
To get the firearm, the ruthless gang had on the said date waylaid the Chief Inspector as he parked his car in Vihiga’s Majengo market, descending on him with daggers and leaving him for the dead.
They then disappeared with his Jericho pistol loaded with 15 rounds of ammunition.
During the Tuesday incident, the recovered pistol contained only two rounds of ammunition, with officers now investigating if the gun has been linked to incidents of crime.
This means the weapon had been used in crime. Police are investigating and have sent it for ballistic tests.
After days of surveillance, detectives from DCI Operations Directorate swiftly responded to an intelligence report that a suspicious car occupied by three armed men at the KU farm in Mwiki.
Stealthily approaching the scene, the team realized it was the same suspects who had evaded several police dragnets after staging some attacks around the city.
Police said on challenging the miscreants to surrender, two of the three took to their heels as the shot suspect brandished the firearm for a battle of guns and was gunned down.
His accomplices made it to the populated shopping centre and holed up but the police are hot on their trail.
A Nissan Note which the suspects were using was impounded alongside other exhibits that were found stashed in it.
The suspect’s body was moved to the City Mortuary pending identification.
Police say they have enhanced operations in the city to address cases of violent robberies. This has among others seen a number of suspects killed.
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