Two Wakali Kwanza gang members were shot dead in Mombasa on Friday evening.
They were killed after attempting to steal from members of the public in Bamburi area.
Coast regional police boss Larry Kieng said police responded immediately after they were alerted and that they recovered crude weapons.
"The two were in a group of 10 people who were planning to terrorise residents tonight," he said.
"When they were confronted by police, the youths who were armed with crude weapons accosted them forcing them to open fire."
Kieng said the members are less than 20 years old and that the rest of them escaped.
The gang has been linked to armed robberies targeting pedestrians and motorists in Bamburi, Kisauni, Likoni, Changamwe and Old Town.
The knife-welding juvenile gangsters are believed to have started off as football players in organised teams.
