Police shoot dead 4 suspected gangsters in Eldoret
The scene on Eldoret-Webuye highway near Posta estate in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County, where police killed four suspected gangsters on January 8, 2020. PHOTO | JARED NYATAYA | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- The suspects, who were in a saloon car, had been ordered to stop but opened fire instead, forcing police to shoot at their car on Eldoret-Webuye highway.
- The suspects had been on the police radar on suspicion of engaging in crimes in major towns including Nairobi, Nakuru and Eldoret.
- Uasin Gishu Police Commander said all the suspects died at the scene and that police found a pistol made in Brazil, 11 bullets, two magazines and a mobile phone.
Police officers on Wednesday shot and killed four suspected gangsters near Posta estate in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County.
The suspects, who were in a saloon car, had been ordered to stop but opened fire instead, forcing police to shoot at their car on the Eldoret-Webuye highway.
Uasin Gishu Police Commander Johnstone Ipara said: ''At around 8am, officers on patrol stopped the vehicle, which was being driven dangerously, but the suspects refused to stop, hence the shooting.''
He said all the suspects died at the scene and that police found a pistol made in Brazil, 11 bullets, two magazines and a mobile phone.
The bodies were taken to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital mortuary.
The car in which four suspected gangsters died in a shootout with police on Eldoret-Webuye highway near Posta estate in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County, January 8, 2020. PHOTO | JARED NYATAYA | NATION MEDIA GROUP
PLANNED CRIMES
The suspects had been on the police radar on suspicion of engaging in crimes in major towns including Nairobi, Nakuru and Eldoret.
Mr Ipara said they had been planning to commit a crime in Eldoret.
It is believed that the four were among criminals who attacked four Administration Police officers some time in 2019.
“The criminals escaped with the officers' firearms,” said Mr Ipara.
Members of the public at the scene on Eldoret-Webuye highway near Posta estate in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County, where police killed four suspected gangsters on January 8, 2020. PHOTO | JARED NYATAYA | NATION MEDIA GROUP
CRACKDOWN
Police have intensified a crackdown on criminals in Eldoret town.
They recently launched a hunt for people suspected to have been stealing cars.
Following the shooting on Wednesday, residents praised police, saying they were doing a good job.
“Such incidents deter criminals from terrorising residents. We urge officers to keep up the good work," Mr Joseph Githeka said, and asked police to intensify both day and night patrols.
Uasin Gishu Police Commander, Mr Johnstone Ipara, addresses the press on Eldoret-Webuye highway near Posta estate in Eldoret, where police killed four suspected gangsters on January 8, 2020. PHOTO | JARED NYATAYA | NATION MEDIA GROUP
