A suspected thug was on Tuesday morning shot dead by police in a botched robbery incident in Athi River, Machakos County.

Police confronted a gang that had erected an illegal roadblock along Total Suraya Murram Road.

Undercover police officers were responding to public outcry after the gang of about 10 young men had blocked the road using stones and were busy robbing the motorists.

Police who went to inquire what was happening were flagged down by a group who ordered the officers to surrender everything.

“One of the individuals brandished what appeared to be a pistol and aimed it at the officers, while others were armed with crude weapons,” police said in their report.

In response, the officers opened fire and the assailants fled into the nearby bushy area.

Officers who pursued them later found the body of a man aged about 30 lying in the bush.

The team said they recovered a toy pistol and various crude weapons, including two(2) pangas, a rungu and a bow and arrow, scattered in the vicinity.

Police suspect that some of the assailants may have escaped with injuries.

Several motorists using the route reported being robbed of cash and valuables by the gang.

The body was moved to the Shalom Community Hospital Mortuary for identification and postmortem examination.

In another incident, a suspected thief was lynched by a mob in a botched robbery in Mowlem area, Dandora.

According to the police, the suspect is said to have tried to snatch a mobile phone from a female pedestrian in Lost City estate, when an alarm was raised.

This raised the attention of locals who chased and stoned him to death.

Police said the suspect was aged about 19 years.

The body with multiple injuries was moved to the mortuary pending autopsy and further investigations.