New details have emerged on the events that led to the fatal shooting of a police officer in Thika Town, Kiambu County.
Constable Bernard Koome of Spiv in Thika was on Wednesday shot and killed in a botched robbery in Thika town.
The incident happened in the Kianjau area at about 4 pm. Koome of Spiv in Thika was in the company of other colleagues when he was shot in the neck.
Spiv consists of undercover cops who patrol cities to contain different forms of crime.
The officers were within the Cravers area when they
sighted a suspicious motorcycle and intercepted it.
Upon intercepting it, the rider abandoned it and
started to run away, police said.
He then knelt, pretending to surrender as the two police officers approached him.
According to police,
the suspect drew a gun and started firing aimlessly as the officers, who were
caught off guard, took cover.
In the process, he
shot Koome in the neck as he escaped on foot, witnesses and police said.
The other colleagues pursued the gunman, who
continued firing in the air as he was escaping, witnesses and police said.
One of the colleagues
who was not armed picked up Koome’s pistol and pursued the suspect for a short
while before he vanished.
This is after the
suspect hijacked a bodaboda rider who had carried a pillion passenger and
ordered him off the motorcycle.
A video that captured the drama showed the suspect approach the rider at gunpoint and take control of the motorcycle before riding off.
By then, Constable Koome had been rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival, police said.
A major operation was conducted in the area in vain. Police said two spent cartridges of 9mm calibre were found at the scene.
A Czeska pistol magazine was also recovered, loaded with seven rounds of 9mm. The magazine belonged to the suspect.
The recovered bullets
were sent for ballistic tests as the hunt for the suspect goes on.
Police said no arrest was made. The hunt for the suspect is ongoing.
The suspect is believed to be among those
terrorising the area. The area has been experiencing a fluctuation of crime in
general amid operations to contain the trend.
A major investigation is ongoing, police said.
