Three suspected armed criminals were shot dead in a fierce shoot out with police in a foiled robbery attempt along 1st Parklands Avenue in Nairobi.
The mid-morning dramatic scenes left pedestrians and motorists scampering for safety.
A pistol loaded with eight bullets of 9mm caliber, a Somali sword, several identity cards and the vehicle were recovered.
Speaking at the scene, Parklands Police Station Officer Commanding Station Richard Omenke said the trio were notorious criminals.
“Police had trialed the three after intelligence provided revealed they had planned a robbery in the same area. Our officers managed to intercept them well in advance.” He said.
The slain suspects were driving a Toyota Voxy which they had stolen.
On Tuesday night, a suspected thug was lynched by a mob in a botched robbery in Buruburu, Nairobi.
He was cornered by irate residents while robbing pedestrians. Two of his accomplices managed to escape.
The killings come at a time of souring crime levels in the city.
Previously, former area OCS Job Njiru was shot and seriously injured in Parklands by gunmen riding on motorcycles. A businessman was also injured.
The officers was shot and badly injured while responding to a distress call by a businessman who was also robbed of USD26,000 (Sh2.2million) and three laptops.