Panic and confusion erupted in Kisumu’s Central Business District on Monday morning when a young man shot at police officers in broad daylight along Otieno Oyoo Street, causing pedestrians and traders to scurry for cover.
The 21-year-old suspect was identified by Kisumu Central Deputy Sub-County Police Commandant Bakari Mwanauli as having been seen by officers walking alongside two other men along the Patel Samaj Temple road, carrying what appeared to be a suspicious bag.
“When the officers attempted to get closer to them, the young man reflexively inserted his hand into his bag, pulled out a gun, and began shooting,” Mwanauli explained.
There was pandemonium. Individuals fled their shops, cars screeched to a stop, and roadside vendors fled helter-skelter as the noise of gunfire rang out in the morning air. Eyewitnesses claimed the man had let off a few shots prior to his entering the temple complex.
He did, allegedly taking the security guard hostage at gunpoint, taking his phone and valuables, and tying him up with a piece of cloth. The gunman soon reached the rooftop of the building and took cover behind a water tank, kept exchanging fire with policemen on the ground.
It was like in the movies,” one trader who saw the drama unfold from a roadside stall recounted. “We just dived to the ground and prayed.”
Police reinforcements arrived only after the stand-off of tense few minutes. The police officers were finally able to overpower and arrest the suspect, recovering from him an AK-47 rifle and five rounds of ammunition.
Detectives believe the firearm can be linked to a string of recent robberies in Kisumu. The suspect was arrested and taken to Kisumu Central Police Station, where detectives are tracking his two other accomplices who are on the run.
The police say the man will be arraigned in court once investigations are complete.