Police officer shoots man dead, turns gun on self

A police officer shot dead a man at Ndurumo Trading Centre, Laikipia, on Sunday afternoon over a love triangle, then committed suicide.

The officer, Peter Macharia, attached to Ndurumo Patrol Base, killed Benson Kipkemboi, 29, using a G3 rifle.

Laikipia West Sub-County Police Commander, Francis Nga'ng'a, said that Macharia killed the man before he turned the gun on himself.

The officer said that they heard gunshots, only to establish that Macharai had killed a man and then committed suicide.

“The officer went for lunch within the Ndurumo Centre, and he killed Kipkemboi inside a pool shop and then proceeded to his post and committed suicide at the doorstep of his house,” Nga'ng'a said.

Directorate of Criminal Investigations detectives visited the scene and found the officer’s body lying on the ground, oozing blood, with his rifle across his legs.

“Upon examining Macharia’s body, it had gunshot wounds at the centre of the chest as the entry point and exited on the back shoulder, leaving a mark on the doorstep wall,” he added.

The cartridge was recovered at the scene. Nga'ng'a said that only one unspent cartridge was found under the officer’s bed, and no suicide note was recovered.

“The officers proceeded to the second scene, which is 150 metres from the police post, where Kipkemboi’s body was lying in a pool of blood; his body had a bullet wound entering from the left side of his chest,” he added.

Nga’ng’a said that Kipkemboi was also shot in his hip and the bullet lodged inside.

A motorcycle was struck with two bullets at the engine, and two spent cartridges were recovered at the scene.

The bodies of the two were removed to the mortuary. Nga'ng'a said that investigations had commenced to establish the identity of the unknown female.