NAIROBI, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan police on Friday shot dead seven suspected gangsters in Nairobi's Kitusuru residential estate following a botched robbery.
Nairobi County Police Commander Joseph Ole Tito said the seven were intercepted while planning to ambush a construction firm manager who was going to pay his workers at the site.
Ole Tito said they recovered a Berreta pistol and two home-made ones from the suspects who had by then accessed the targeted compound.
He said they had prior intelligence on the planned raid on the home before they laid an ambush flooring the seven. "We have received a tip from some members of the public and moved swiftly to thwart their plan," he said.
Neighbors said they heard a barrage of gunfire for almost five minutes before it fell silent. "We later learnt some people had been killed as they tried to get into a home for a robbery mission," said a resident.
The police sources said the same gang had been linked to similar robberies reported in parts of Karen area, a leafy suburb in Nairobi. Karen has been facing a series of attacks by thugs targeting cash, gold and other valuables.
This is the latest shooting incident in the last weeks and takes to more than 20, the number of suspects so far killed by police in the last weeks in the war on crime.
The police say most of these suspects behind a series of robberies in Nairobi and its environs are young men aged between 18 and 25.
