Police shoot dead suspected criminal

Police in Blantyre on Wednesday evening shot dead an alleged criminal in Makata Industrial Area where the deceased together with his three colleagues were found wandering about.

Blantyre Police Station assistant spokesperson Andrew Mayawo said the deceased, whose details he said were yet to be established, was hit by a stray bullet after police started to shoot in the air to stop him and his colleagues who had started running away from being interrogated.

He said: “Lately, we have been receiving reports of criminal cases from this area and police officers are being deployed to patrol the area. What happened is that patrol officers saw four men who were looking suspicious wandering about near Avis Car Rental premises.

“The officers approached them to find out what they were doing and this is when they started running away. They were warned to stop but they continued running away. Police fired in the air and three of the suspects managed to climb Blantyre Secondary School (BSS) fence, but one was hit by a stray bullet.”

He said the deceased was taken to Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (Qech) where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Mayawo said the deceased was found with a small blue bag which had a parabellum pistol without ammunition.

He said one of the three that escaped was also carrying a small bag whose contents are not know, stressing that they have since intensified a search for all the three suspects.

This incident comes barely a week after police in Limbe shot dead three suspected criminals who were suspected of having plotted to rob a company at Mapanga