Police on Tuesday recovered a homemade gun after a suspect who had it fell asleep after an altercation with his mother in Mathare slums, Nairobi.
Police said the suspect had an argument with his mother on Tuesday morning in Mradi area before he reached for his pistol and shot into the air once to silence her.
He then placed the pistol on the table before falling asleep.
It was then that the mother grabbed the weapon and dashed with it to the local security chairman, who called the police.
By the time police arrived at the house, the suspect had woken up and detected unusual happenings and escaped.
This was after he was unable to locate his weapon. Police said the suspect was on the run and efforts to trace him were ongoing.
The weapon was kept by the police pending the arrest of the suspect and further processing.
Police say Mathare slums are one of the areas deemed dangerous and acting as a den of thieves.
Police stage operations in the area on a regular basis to tame the gangs behind the trend.
The gangs at times fight back, leaving a trail of injuries and destruction of property.
Nairobi police boss George Seda said they have arrested dozens of suspects in the operations, and more are planned in the area and other places for security.
In Transmara’s Angata Barrikoi area, police recovered an AK-47 rifle abandoned in a thicket as the alleged owners escaped from the scene.
The owner of the illegal gun is said to have initially shot at a rider and missed him in the September 3 incident.
This prompted the rider and his pillion passenger to dash to the local police station and inform the police of the incident.
Police mounted an operation, recovering the weapon loaded with 30 bullets in a thicket.
Police said the owner and accomplices managed to escape the scene, and efforts to trace them are ongoing.
The area has been experiencing a rise in attacks by gunmen targeting cattle. This has spread to the nearby Kuria area, Migori county.
