A 21-year-old man was on Monday morning arrested in Kisumu following a dramatic exchange of gunfire with police officers during a robbery incident in the central business district.

According to Kisumu Central Deputy Police Commander Bakari Mwanauli, the suspect, identified as Kelvin Oduor alias Kevo, was cornered after allegedly robbing a security guard at gunpoint near Patel Sarmaj area along Oginga Odinga Street.

Mwanauli said officers from the Kisumu Central Police Station, were on routine patrol when they heard gunshots along the busy street.

Upon arriving at the scene, Mwanauli said, they discovered that the suspect had accosted a security guard, identified as Bernard Onyango and stolen his Itel mobile phone and a pair of rubber shoes, before tying his hands with a piece of cloth.

“When the officers approached, the suspect opened fire on them and attempted to flee. The officers pursued him and found him hiding inside a water drum on the rooftop of Patel Sarmaj Building,” he said. The suspect, he added, resisted arrest but was subdued after a brief struggle.

A search at the scene, he said led to the recovery of an AK-47 rifle, serial number 94883, loaded with a magazine containing five rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition. One spent cartridge was also collected from the scene. He added that Crime Scene Investigators processed the scene while the suspect was taken to Kisumu Central Police Station for further interrogation.

Mwanauli said detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Kisumu Central have launched investigations to establish the source of the firearm and whether the suspect is linked to other robbery incidents in the city.

This is the second firearm to be recovered in the lakeside city after police officers recovered a Jericho Pistol in Kisumu East over the weekend.

The pistol was positively identified as the one snatched from a GSU officer attached to Kakamega Governor Fernandes Barasa during the burial of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga in Bondo, Siaya County.

• Tell Media / KNA report / By Chris Mahandara