Arusha police gun down 5 suspected armed robbers
Arusha Regional Police Commander Jonathan Shana displays a gun that was seized from five sus-pected armed robbers during a press confer-ence in Arusha yesterday.
What you need to know:
The five suspected armed bandits were gunned down at Matevez near the Arusha airport during an exchange of fire with the police who intercepted them following a tip off.
Arusha. Police on Wednesday night gunned down five suspected armed robbers in an incident reminiscent of the past years when crime was high in Arusha,
Mystery surrounds the 9:45 pm shooting along the newly completed by pass high way which claimed the lives of the suspects whose names have not been revealed.
“They were intercepted as they were allegedly on the way to commit a crime in Simanjiro district in Manyara region,” said the regional police commander Jonathan Shana.
The killings took place at Matevez near the Arusha airport during what the RPC described as an exchange of fire between the police who intercepted them following a tip off.
The suspects, who were found with an assortment of firearms, were intercepted while riding on three motorcycles when they were stopped at a road junction but reportedly defied the orders.
“They defied the orders and started shooting at our officers,” Mr Shanna said noting during an exchange of fire which lasted for 35 minutes, four suspects were killed instantly.
On seeing the heat of the gunfire, one of the suspects vainly made a U-turn but managed only 500 metres before he was gunned down.
The deceased were found with a short gun, a Chinese pistol, a home-made pistol and magazines loaded with ammunitions.
The early night shootings sent shock waves in the low density suburb despite the heavy downpour which pounded the Arusha on Wednesday evening..
It brought memories of the frequent gunfire seen in much of Arusha city and its suburbs at the height of a crime wave in the 1990s and early 2000.
A similar incident took place in 1998 when six suspected criminals were gunned down after they were cornered by the police on the eastern suburb.
The six were allegedly plotting to intercept a bank van which was taking money to Simanjiro and Kiteto districts.
The scene of Wednesday night’s shooting had gun catridges, ammunitions, mobile phone handsets, three guns and three motorcycles were retrieved.
The identify of the deceased remained mystery until late yesterday. The RPC warned members of the public not to engage in crime, vowing the police would have no mercy on the criminals.
