A contingent of General Service Unit (GSU) officers have been dispatched to Kapenguria Police Station where a suspected Al-Shabaab militant opened fire early Thursday morning.
Five police officers including a senior officer are among the dead in the wake of the 3:00 am incident.
Speaking to the Nation on phone, West Pokot County Commissioner Wilson Wanyanga confirmed that Kapenguria OCS Vitalis Ochido was among the dead.
According to Mr Wanyanga, the suspect was booked at the police station on Wednesday.
He was arrested at Nakwijit area within North Pokot Sub-County and was expected to appear in court Thursday morning.
The suspect, Omar Okwaki Eumod, is said to have planned his rescue from the cells before he seized a rifle from one of the officers and begun shooting indiscriminately.
The man is accused of recruiting young people from the region to join the militia group.
A helicopter carrying nine elite General Service Unit (GSU), Recce Company landed in Kapenguria in efforts to subdue the gunman.
This is the first response unit to arrive at the scene with Administration Police (AP) officers having been deployed to the scene.
Gun shots were heard from the police station as late as 10am.
It is alleged that when one police officer opened the cells to take in more suspects, Mr Omar snatched the officer’s gun and shot him dead before turning to other police officers who responded to the gunshots.
Kapenguria Police Station OCS Chief Inspector Vitalis Ochido is among who died in the Kapenguria attack. PHOTO | ANGIRA ZADOCK | NATION MEDIA GROUP.
-nation.co.ke
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