City cop shoots self while effecting arrest

The officer based at Parklands Police Station is recuperating at a Nairobi Hospital. [File, Standard]

A police officer based at Parklands Police Station is nursing gunshot wounds after he allegedly shot himself while effecting an arrest.

According to a Tweet by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), Detective Luke Juma was pursuing a suspect, Philip Munyasia, who had been on the run for days.

The hunt for the suspect began when he fled after an altercation that left the victim in a critical condition, police say.

“Munyasia, 35, had taken flight when he spotted the detective coming for him, prompting a chase that left traders along Lunga Lunga road in Nairobi’s Industrial area, dismayed,” DCI says.

Police say their colleague caught up with the suspect after a 400 meter-chase, pinned him to the ground as he struggled to cuff the suspect.

In the process, he accidentally discharged one round from his firearm which was on his waist. The bullet went for his left leg just above the knee.

“He however restrained the suspect in his arms, until Corporal Abdilatif Ahmed, whose service to the nation shall be missed as he retires soon, arrived,” DCI tweeted.

The suspect was arrested and is in police custody as Juma, injured in the process, is recuperating at a hospital In Nairobi.