Six suspected thugs said to have been part of a gang of eight were killed on Friday morning
in an attempted robbery in Riruta, Nairobi.
Nairobi police commander Japheth Koome recounted that the group had been spotted stealing from shopping centres in the area.
Koome said they resorted to attacking police officers who saw them, prompting a retaliation that left one of them dead while seven escaped.
"When the residents realised they were thugs who had been terrorising them, they pursued and stoned them, killing five," he said.
Koome said two others escaped in the incident after which police found a pistol and four bullets. He said investigations were launched.
David Njoroge, one of the killed men, had reportedly been living in a rented single mabati room in the area for two years.
The incident is among several in which suspected robbers have been killed in Nairobi since the New Year.
On Monday, five suspected thugs werearea on Thika Superhighway and killed in a foiled robbery.
Police, who had followed the five from Highridge, found two pistols and a stolen car after a gunfight.
