NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 14-A key suspect linked to the brazen armed robbery that shocked Nairobi after a viral daylight attack at a Spring Valley restaurant earlier this month has been shot dead by detectives following a gunfight in Joska, Machakos County.

📻 Breaking It Down

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) said the suspect was killed during an intelligence-led operation after detectives tracked him to a house where he was reportedly hiding at his girlfriend’s residence.

According to the DCI, officers from the agency’s headquarters teamed up with detectives from Matungulu Sub-County and raided the house after receiving credible intelligence on the suspect’s whereabouts.

The operation turned into a shootout after the suspect allegedly opened fire on the officers through a kitchen window when they identified themselves and ordered those inside the house to surrender.

📌 What You Need to Know

“Detectives returned fire in self-defence. After securing the premises and gaining entry, they found the suspect lying fatally wounded inside the house,” the DCI said in a statement.

Police recovered a Beretta pistol loaded with a magazine containing four rounds of 9mm ammunition, additional live rounds, spent cartridges and three mobile phones from the scene.

The recovered firearm has been handed over to the National Police Service Forensic Laboratory for ballistic examination to establish whether it was used in other violent crimes.

Investigators believe the slain suspect was part of a wider criminal syndicate responsible for a string of violent robberies across Nairobi, Kiambu and Machakos counties.

The suspect is also believed to have participated in the July 4 armed robbery at a popular restaurant along General Mathenge Road in Spring Valley, Westlands, where four armed men riding two motorcycles stormed the premises, robbed diners of phones and other valuables before firing two shots into the air as they escaped.

The dramatic robbery, captured on CCTV and widely shared on social media, sparked public outrage and renewed concerns over rising cases of armed motorcycle gangs targeting affluent neighbourhoods in Nairobi.

📰 Source: Capital FM Kenya