• Directorate of Criminal Investigation boss George Kinoti said a manhunt ensued as the three officers combed the area in search of the suspects who were operating on a motorbike.
• 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 tyre.
A robbery suspect was killed Tuesday while two others escaped following a shootout with police.
The suspect was shot dead after he defied orders to surrender and fired at the officers.
The suspects had just staged a robbery at South B’s Trans Towers building when three officers on patrol within the area got wind of the incident.
Directorate of Criminal Investigations boss George Kinoti said the officers combed the area in search of the suspects who were riding on a motorbike.
After hour-long search without success, they parked their vehicle by a perimeter wall of a building and switched off the headlights.
Minutes later, they heard the sound of an oncoming motorbike, that grew gradually louder as it approached their direction.
The officers waited patiently until the thugs were within a short distance then switched on their vehicle's headlights at full beam, blinding the thugs who struggled to keep their 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," Kinoti said.
A Corporal Okello who led the ambush shouted repeatedly at the thugs to surrender but the culprit who was fleeing on foot opened fire on them, deflating one of the front tyres of the police vehicle.
"This prompted a fierce shootout as the officers responded to the provocation, fatally wounding the thug as his accomplices disappeared towards Shimo la Tewa slums," Kinoti said.
A pistol loaded with three rounds of ammunition was recovered from the suspect.
Preliminary findings from tests carried out by ballistics experts at the DCI National Forensic laboratory have linked the firearm to a spate of armed attacks in Buruburu, Pipeline and Embakasi areas in the recent past.
Detectives are pursuing the two suspects who escaped on a motorbike.
The body of the slain suspect was moved to the City mortuary pending identification.