A team
from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations headquarters joined the hunt on
a gunman who shot and killed a police officer in an attack in Thika Town.
The team
from the Operation Support Unit has so far established that the registration numbers
of the motorbike the gunman was using before he shot and killed Constable Bernard
Koome had been concealed and tampered with.
The
plates are different from those registered with the engine of the motorcycle.
No arrest
has been made so far in connection with the shooting on Wednesday evening in Cravers
area.
The team
is reviewing footage of security cameras that captured the movements of the
motorcycle and the one he used to escape after the shooting.
The
gunman hijacked a motorcycle that he used to escape from the scene, police
spokesman Michael Muchiri said.
New details
have emerged on what happened leading to the fatal shooting.
The incident happened in 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.
Police said the officers were within 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 stopped and knelt down, pretending to surrender as the two police officers approached him.
They did
not know his plans.
According
to police, the suspect drew a gun and started firing aimlessly as the officers
approached him, thinking he was ready to be arrested.
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 Koome’s pistol and pursued the suspect
for a short while as he vanished.
This is
after the suspect had hijacked a bodaboda rider who had 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 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, police said.
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 area has been experiencing a fluctuation of crime in general amid operations to contain the trend.
