Gang shoots adverts guru dead
Residents watch as a police officer carries out investigations at Mr Patrick Richer’s home in Runda estate, Nairobi, Sunday. Mr Richer was shot twice in the chest. PHOTO/EVANS HABIL
What you need to know:
- Mr Richer and his Kenyan wife, Lesili, were hiding in the bathroom when the gangsters entered the bedroom. Police said he was shot when he opened the door.
An Australian national was Sunday shot dead at his Runda home in Nairobi by gunmen, some of whom were in police uniforms.
The gangsters, armed with AK47 rifles and a pistol, shot advertising guru Patrick John Richer, 39, twice in the chest at close range.
The 1am attack occurred after the 10 gangsters — six in Administration Police uniforms — gained access to Mr Richer’s home by cutting his hedge.
The gang then broke into the house after tying up guards and other domestic servants.
Mr Richer and his Kenyan wife, Lesili, were hiding in the bathroom when the gangsters entered the bedroom. Police said he was shot when he opened the door.
The attackers made away with a TV set, phones and two laptops.
Nairobi County Police Commander Benson Kibue said they were investigating the incident to establish the motive of the attack and the identity of the attackers.
“We are trying to establish if the suspects donning AP uniforms were indeed policemen,” he told journalists at the scene of the attack.
He was accompanied by Nairobi criminal investigations chief Nicholas Kamwende.
Police found spent cartridges at the scene and were taken for ballistic tests.
After the shooting, neighbours rushed Mr Richer to Aga Khan Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
The victim was the Creative Director with TBWA Flame Tree, an international advertising agency, in Nairobi. He had worked for Lowe and Partners, an international advertising agency based in London, and at the Ogilvy, where he was the creative director.
The founder and Chief Executive of Flame Tree Ltd Tim Symth said Mr Richer moved to the house in September. “I cannot understand why he would be targeted. He moved to this house towards the end of September and the first thing he did was to know the neighbours,” said Mr Smyth.
The house, according to police, had witnessed three different robberies in the last one year. The city has in the past few weeks witnessed an increase in attacks by gunmen, some of them in police uniforms. On Friday , a property manager with Villa Care was shot in Parklands.
