Three suspected criminals gunned down by police in Juja

Police on Friday evening shot dead three suspected criminals at High Point Estate in Juja along the Nairobi-Thika Highway.

According to Juja Officer Commanding Police Division (OCDP) Mr Patrick Munyasia said police officers from Special Crime Prevention Unit who were on patrol got a tip-off that the criminals had shot and injured a person at Kennol in Murang’a County.

Mr Munyasia said the police officers acted swiftly and got the registration number of the vehicle and immediately started to pursue the suspected gangsters who were driving towards Nairobi.

He said when they reached Juja they diverted back towards Thika and on reaching near High point they were ordered to stop by the police officers by they defied and instead started firing at them.

“A shootout ensued and three suspected gangsters were shot dead who included two men and a lady. The police officers recovered a Ceska pistol, a homemade pistol, few rounds of ammunition, several sachets of medicine,” said the OCPD.

The suspected criminals were traveling in a Toyota Belta which police sources indicate they believed it had been stolen.

Police estimated the men killed were in their mid-twenties while the lady was in her early twenties.

He said they suspected the gangsters were part of a group that have been terrorizing and robbing people in Nairobi, Kiambu and Murang’a counties.

He termed the killing of the three was a breakthrough as far as the fight against insecurity and robbery was concerned.

The OCPD said none of the police officer was injured in the shootout but a member but added a person who was shot by one gangster who managed to escape later died while undergoing treatment at Thika Level 5 Hospital.

The police boss said they are looking for the suspected criminal who managed to escape.

Cases of carjacking and robbery have been on the increase along Thika-Highway with Juja and Ruiru being the biggest casualties of the rising insecurity.

The criminals have also been targeting public service vehicles where they have been high jacking them and later robbing them of money and other valuables.

Residents commended the police officers saying insecurity in the area had reached alarming levels.

Lee Maina a resident said the area had become inhabitable to the soaring insecurity levels more so at night.

“Robbery and mugging has become the order of the day. You cannot walk in peace more so when the dusk fall. This criminal gang which comprise of young people who do not want to get tired to get money has become too much,” he said.