Police in Chingola have gunned down a suspected criminal who was found with unknown chemicals believed to have been used in the gassing of residents in the area.
Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of operations Bonny Kapeso revealed at Chingola Central Police Station on Monday that the suspect was shot in the early hours of the morning around Mwaiseni trading area when he tried to run from police officers who were patrolling the area.
He said unknown chemicals and a cell phone were recovered from the criminal.
“Last night just after midnight, the officers on patrol came across one person who was spotted carrying a bag, when the officers confronted him, he threw the bag and took to his heels, started running. As per procedure officers fired a warning shot, after he failed to heed to the warning officers had no option but to disable him.They shot him in the legs but died due to excessive bleeding,” Mr Kapeso explained.
He said the body of the suspect has been deposited at Chingola district hospital mortuary awaiting identification.
He wondered why a person would move at night carrying unknown chemicals at a time when crime levels are high in the area.
Mr Kapeso further disclosed that police officers have intensified foot patrols in Chingola which has seen the number of houses affected reduce from 80 to 7.
He said following continued operations in Chingola, police officers have adopted foot patrols instead of motorised patrols because they are able to encounter people from whom they can get information.
“The figures are reducing we had started with 80 five days ago, yesterday we had fifteen, and as at 06 hours today only seven houses were affected,” he disclosed.
He said 30 affected people were attended to by medical officers and have since been discharged.
And Home Affairs Minister Stephen Kampyongo says the incident shows how serious the work of the police has become in restoring sanity in the chingola district.
He says police will leave no stone unturned and gunning down one suspect is a warning to would be offenders.
The law in Zambia needs serious look into.
Police find UsSub carrying a bag at night, unbeknownst to the police maybe UnSub is deaf but who cares? Police go ahead and ask UnSub to stop, UnSub dumps bag and makes a run for it – well because it’s the first instinct some has when under threat. Police in turn fire a warning shot but because they don’t know whether UnSub is deaf or not plus his first instinct was to run UnSub continues to run. Police decide to disable UnSub, UnSub is thus shot in the legs. Due to excessive bleeding UnSub later dies.
The Police’s main mandate is law and order from these come there aim to preserve life and property. I have one question doesn’t it defeat their purpose to preserve life if ‘UnSub/suspect’ can be shot for fleeing? I know there is no magic…
con’t.
I know there is no magic bullet to catching criminals but I believe it defeats the purpose of 1. preserve life, 2. solve crime, 3. preventing future crime if UnSub/suspects can just be shot like that.
“Zambian police are becoming more trigger happy thinking that it will make them more competent.
The duty of a cop is “to serve and protect.”
It is what civilized people expect.
Police brutality on a suspect, is wrong! What if the suspect was not quilty?
“I guess the only time most people think about injustice is when it happens to them.”
There is no greater tyranny than that which is perpetrated under the shield of the law.
“When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty.”
-Thomas Jefferson
where are the chemicals being sourced from. Whoever is selling the chemicals needs to keep records of buyers? simple.
People burnt down Mutenda Police “Toilet” and all of a sudden the police is arresting the ritual killers! Maybe this is the only formula the Zambian Police understand best!
Gun them down. Well done Zambia Police! If the stories we’ve been hearing are true, then these are terrorists who deserve no mercy. We can’t allow anyone to turn our peaceful cities into death zones.
Good job cops, come even in kalulushi, were kalulushi police officers go against neighborhood gangs patrolling at night, why?
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Nonsense. Which deaf man carries a bag of dangerous chemicals, throws it away on seeing the police and tries to flee from the scene? If you believe that man was innocent, then you will believe anything.
comment is a reply to #1 Dokowe.
In as much as what has been going on is terrible, don’t the Zambian Police know how to disable wiithout causing death – especially where one is actually fleeing? There are many situations where people are simply ‘gunned’ down in Zambia. Lack of restraint tactics and equipment should not be an excuse for wantonly taking away a life. How do they even get down to the bottom of what is going on by simply killing recklessly? There are situations that demand this but many have not been in those circumstances.
Thank you ba police for your hard work. We wont condone criminality within our borders.
@Nine Chale. Happy New Year brother! I didn’t say I believe anything, all I have done is create a hypothetical narrative to support my argument over why the police shouldn’t have shot the UnSub.
The reckless killing of suspects by Zambia Police should stop immediately. I think the responsible police officers should made to face the law for killing an innocent man, You don’t just shoot someone who has no fire arm for running away from incognito police officers. The story we have been told may not even be true. As the saying goes there two sides to a story, am sure the dead man would have us a different narrative. Is is this what it means to live in so called christian.
@Dokowe and Kolwezi: This is not USA where the police chase and catch suspects
PERHAPS HE WAS STARVING AND STOLE A LOAF OF BREAD WHO KNOWS BUT TO GUN HIM DOWN – THESE POLICE MUST BE ARRESTED AND PUT ON TRIAL
there is more to do in order to bring sanity, peace in this our country
The whole story sounds suspicious. I think they let him bleed to death because they didn’t want him to talk. Poor policing