• The officers, travelling on unmarked vehicles, tracked them down in Njega's Area and challenged them to surrender.
• They declined to surrender and allegedly engaged the officers in a gun battle.
Two suspected gangsters were gunned down on Wednesday evening by Flying Squad officers in Kirinyaga county.
The two were among five individuals who had allegedly robbed a women's group in Kabare village, Kirinyaga East, of Sh13,000 at gunpoint and fled. The police said they were heavily armed.
The officers, travelling on unmarked vehicles, tracked them down in Njega's Area and challenged them to surrender. They declined to surrender and allegedly engaged the officers in a gun battle.
Kirinyaga Central subcounty police commander Dorin Oduol said the officers recovered an AK-47 rifle and 12 bullets. She said the gun had been stolen from a police officer last year and it had been used to terrorise residents, especially M-Pesa agents.
She said they also recovered a Toyota Calida car believed to have been stolen. The bodies had yet to be identified.
"They also had two different number plates and three cans of teargas," she said.
The two suspects succumbed to their injuries. Three suspects fled and the police are pursuing them. Oduol said the suspects have been on police radar but they have always managed to escape.
Residents interviewed said the police engaged the thugs in fierce gunfire. Philise Wanjiku said gunshots rent the air. She said they rushed to the scene and found police engaging the suspects.
Paul Nyaga said suspects had been a thorn in the flesh of bodaboda riders as they robbed them daily. He welcomed the action taken by the police to rid the area of criminals.
More than 100 spent carriages were at the scene. The bodies were taken to Kerugoya Referral Hospital as the police investigation continues.