Shots fired at Nairobi mall rattle Kenyans a year after Westgate attack

Guards fired shots at a driver who lost control of his vehicle at a Nairobi mall on Monday after he suffered a seizure, media and the mall reported, rattling Kenyans still nervous a year after Islamist gunmen attacked another shopping centre.

The incident took place at the Galleria mall on the outskirts of the Kenyan capital. The mall said it was not "a terrorist attack."

The U.S. embassy reported an incident at the mall without any details, telling citizens to avoid the area. The police could not immediately be reached for comment.

The driver was "a man who lost control of his vehicle at the main entrance of Galleria shopping mall, due to an epileptic fit," the mall said on its Facebook page. A spokeswoman for the mall confirmed the statement, adding a more detailed one was being written.

"Armed police on the opposite entrance discharge their weapons three times. No one is hurt, apart from the man who was ill, who is now in Nairobi hospital. We are not under terrorist attack," the Facebook statement said. It did not say whether the driver was injured by gunfire.

Kenya media reported panic at the mall when the shots were fired, a reflection of nerves a year after an attack on Westgate mall on Sept 21, 2013. Gunmen linked to the Somali Islamist group al Shabaab carried out the raid, leaving 67 people dead.

Al Shabaab has promised more attacks on Kenya several times since the attack on Westgate, and claimed responsibility for several assaults in Nairobi and on the coast. The group says it wants to punish Kenya for sending troops to Somalia with an African peacekeeping force.

Kenya's government says it will not withdraw, adding its forces are helping keep Kenya secure. But the government has also had to fend of criticism that it is not doing enough to protect Kenya after subsequent attacks al Shabaab claimed responsibility for.