At least one person was shot dead on Sunday and four others injured in a botched police operation at Nyakungru market in Muhoroni, Kisumu county.
Three vehicles were torched during the incident where police raided shops selling counterfeit cigarettes.
The locals reacted to alarms from some of the operators who claimed the officers were thieves.
A mob responded and cornered four police officers who had accompanied officials from counterfeit agency in a house.
Police said cornered officers fired to scare the mob and it was in the process that one civilian was killed.
The team called for reinforcements which arrived from Muhoroni RDU camp.
Police spokesman Bruno Shioso said they are investigating the incident and urged the public not to take the law to their hands.
“We urge the public to desist from mob lynching,” he said.
Meanwhile, police in Homa Bay county arrested two suspects and recovered four crude weapons following an incident where 18 cows were killed and 120 others seriously wounded by unknown people in Ndhiwa on Sunday.
The suspects were arrested in a joint raid conducted by security officers from Ndhiwa Police Station in more than five locations within the area.
The incident left more than 30 livestock farmers with huge losses after unknown suspects stabbed the animals in an attack whose motive has not been established.
Tension has been high since Tuesday last week after a similar attack was carried out in Waondo and Kayanja sub-locations, Mbita sub-county, where 32 cows were killed and 59 others injured.
Officials called on members of the public to volunteer any information they have regarding the attack to assist in the ongoing investigation.
The probe will be extended to Kisumu and Migori counties where police believe other suspects are hiding.
Edited by B. Oruta
