ARMED ROBBER FATALLY WOUNDED AFTER OPENING FIRE ON OFFICERS RESPONDING TO DISTRESS CALLS
An armed robber who engaged detectives in a shootout last night died in a hail of fire, after he defied orders to surrender and fired at the officers.
The thug who was accompanied by two accomplices had just staged a robbery at South B’s Trans-towers building when the officers who were conducting patrols within the area got wind of the incident.
A manhunt then ensued as the three officers in a hatchback combed the area in search of the suspects who were operating on a motorbike.
After an hour without any success, they parked their vehicle by a perimeter wall surrounding one of the buildings and switched off its lights, camouflaging the dark versatile beast that is synonymous with detectives hunting down dangerous criminals in the city.
Like a parliament of owls that hunt in the dark with remarkable precision and accuracy, the three waited patiently for the slightest movement of the thugs. Minutes later, they heard the reverberating Vroooom sound of an oncoming motorbike, that grew gradually louder as it approached their direction.
Ndio hiyo afande! ndio hiyo! whispered constable Kimanzi to his boss corporal Okello, who was leading the operation. Akikaribia weka full light, answered Okello as he beckoned PC Maina who was on the back seat to alight with him and take cover by the vehicles’ body.
No sooner had they positioned themselves than the three thugs approached and Kimanzi put on the lights at full beam, exposing the dumbfounded thugs who struggled to keep the bike that had lost traction on the road.
In the ensuing commotion, one of the thugs landed on the tarmac and quickly gathered himself up, while the rider struggled with the wobbling bike and the remaining thug.
Amidst the ensuing drama, corporal Okello shouted repeatedly at the thugs to surrender but the miscreant who was fleeing on foot opened fire on them, deflating one of the front tyres of our beloved Subaru.
This prompted a fierce shoot out as the officers responded to the provocation with finality, fatally wounding the thug as his accomplices disappeared towards Shimo la Tewa slums.
A browning pistol loaded with three rounds of ammunition was recovered from the miscreant.
Preliminary findings from tests carried out by ballistics experts at the DCI National Forensic laboratory, have linked the firearm to the spate of armed attacks that have rocked areas of Buruburu, Pipeline and Embakasi in the recent past.
Detectives are pursuing the two suspects who escaped on a motorbike. Meanwhile, the body of the fatally wounded thug lies at the City mortuary pending identification.