An angry mob descended on a man and lynched him after he attacked and injured a police officer with a machete in Emali Town, Makueni county.
The police constable sustained deep head cuts and lost an AK47 rifle loaded with 30 rounds of ammunition following the September 17 morning incident.
He had been deployed to guard Kwitu DT Sacco's premises alongside a colleague from Emali police station when they were ambushed and attacked.
The assailant then fired straight up into the air to scare away the mob that bayed for his blood as he attempted to escape. Police found seven spent cartridges.
The weapon jammed and the suspect did not know how to unlock it. It was then that the mob cornered him.
Frantic attempts by police to rescue the deceased proved futile after the mob overpowered them and stoned him to death.
A team of senior officers later visited the scene to carry out investigations.
Elsewhere, police are looking for four gunmen who shot into the air in an attempted robbery in Garissa Town.
The incident happened in Medina Minimarket in Bulla Medina Centre on Tuesday night.
The suspects, one armed with an AK47 riffle, arrived at a shop in a salon car with a concealed number plate.
They then tried to rob an attendant who resisted and screamed for help police said.
It was then that they fired into the air twice and escaped aboard their car.
Police said nothing was stolen from the shop and no injury was reported.
One spent cartridge and one live bullet were recovered at the scene, police said.
