Police have shot dead three suspected gangsters in Karatina Town in Nyeri County following a botched robbery.
The suspects engaged in a cat and mouse game with the police that lasted for more than five hours where they were killed during the fire exchange.
Mathira East OCPD James Barasa said they recovered two firearms and four rounds of ammunition from the robbers who were trying to break into an entertainment joint.
“We have recovered an AK 47 rifle and a homemade pistol capable of firing. Three of the robbers were shot dead but others managed to escape,” Karatina Sub-County Police Commander Barasa said.
The officers were forced to use tear gas as a way of flushing them out of a house where the robbers were hiding as they continuously fired shots at the police.
It is reported that the thieves were in a gang of ten when they interrupted business at the entertainment joint and tried making their way into the cash office.
Majority of them however managed to scamper for safety as police officers arrived.
The robbers were identified after trying to break into an entertainment joint.
It was after one of the staff members within the premises raised alarm and police on patrol responded promptly which in turn led to the robbers fleeing through the neighboring premises.
Three hid inside a ceiling of one of the premises using it as a vantage point to fire at the officers.
Uncertain if there were residents in the building that also houses businesses, police were forced to use tear gas to flush the gunmen.
Police are now in pursuit of the other suspects who managed to escape.
“This is just the beginning. We are going to hunt down all of them and bring them to book,” Barasa said.
