Man shot dead in attempted robbery at a police station in Eldoret
Police officers remove the body of a suspected thief who was shot dead during an attempted theft at the Eldoret West Police Station. Two of his accomplices escaped. PHOTO | JARED NYATAYA | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Two of his accomplices escaped in the 2am incident at the Eldoret West Police Station.
- Eldoret West OCPD Smollets Munyanzi confirmed that the thieves gained access to the police station through the back fence.
- The officer on duty challenged the three but instead of stopping they ran away, forcing him to fire at them.
- The same station was attacked last Thursday, when thieves stole a laptop computer.
A suspected thief was gunned down by police during a robbery attempt at a police station in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County.
Two of his accomplices escaped in the Wednesday 2am incident that happened at the Eldoret West Police Station.
Reports indicated that a three-member gang raided the police station and broke into one of the offices and stole a fax machine and clothes belonging to one of the officers.
Eldoret West OCPD Smollets Munyanzi confirmed that the thieves gained access to the police station through the back fence.
“They were spotted as they were climbing the back wall to the first floor, where one of them had already broken a window pane to a house belonging to an anti-terror officer,” said Mr Munyanzi.
Mr Munyanzi said that the officer on duty challenged the three but instead of stopping they ran away, forcing the officer to fire at them.
Daring thieves: Eldoret OCS David Davasi (right) and plainclothes police officers at the scene where a suspected thief was shot dead while allegedly stealing at Eldoret West Police Station on October 15, 2014.
REFUSED TO STOP
“As they were running, the officer fired to stop them, but they continued to run towards the fence and that is when the officer shot them. Unfortunately one of the three was gunned down and two escaped,” explained Munyanzi.
Afterward the officers conducted a search to confirm if anything had been stolen. It was then established that the fax machine and clothes belonging to the anti-terror officer were stolen and had been hidden in a bush near the compound.
According to Mr Munyanzi, he believed the two suspects ran away with bullet wounds and asked members of the public to report to the police in case they found anyone seeking medical attention at a hospital or clinic.
A fax machine abandoned by thieves at Eldoret West Police Station during an attempted robbery on October 15, 2014.
EMBARRASSING
“We found this embarrassing.
"We have always believed that the war between us and criminals is out in the field and now they had to come to the police station.
"It takes the war between us to a different level,” Mr Munyanzi said.
However, the OCPD assured members of the public of their security, adding that the police would not rest until the two suspects who escaped were arrested.
The same station was attacked last Thursday, when thieves stole a laptop computer belonging to the commander of the anti-terrorism unit.
The window pane that was broken by suspected thieves at the Eldoret West Police Station.
