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Police in Lusaka have shot dead four suspected criminals following complaints of motor vehicle break-ins at shopping malls across Lusaka.
Police Public Relations Officer, Rae Hamoonga, said a team patrolling Foxdale Mall area along Zambezi road encountered a suspicious purple Toyota Ractis with double number plates, AJE 2806 covering the original one.
In a statement issued in Lusaka on Saturday, Hamoonga stated that the vehicle was carrying four male occupants who fled after officers attempted to stop it.
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“During the chase, another white Mark X, with an unknown number plate, sped away. The Scorpion Team prioritized pursuing the purple Ractis,” he added.
“In the pursuit along Zambezi Road,” Hamoonga narrated, “officers fired several warning shots to halt the motor vehicle,”
He said the car eventually stopped near Ngwerere farms and the occupants fled into a nearby farm.
“In the ensuing confrontation,” he added, “four criminals were shot and one, identified as Gift Musonda of Matero, a notorious individual on the list of most wanted criminals for offenses including aggravated robbery, theft from motor vehicles, and theft from persons, was among the fatally wounded,”
Police are, however, yet to determine the identities of the other three deceased individuals, aged between 20 and 30.
Additionally, Hamoonga revealed a number of items which the police recovered from the suspects’ vehicle to include a green backpack with a pair of number plates (AFB 3281), two empty bottles of Benylin, a packet of disposable medical face masks, a sachet of suspected marijuana, two screwdrivers, a broken car key, a black toy pistol, two metal t-bars, an iron bar and one industrial cutter.
“The injured criminals were immediately transported to the University Teaching Hospital, where they were pronounced dead upon arrival,” he stressed.
He said the vehicle used by the deceased criminals is being secured and is currently parked at the Lusaka Division Headquarters.
He further stated that an inquiry file has been opened to thoroughly investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident.
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