AfricaPress-Tanzania: PRESIDENT Samia Suluhu Hassan yesterday directed the relevant authorities to thoroughly investigate the incident in which three police officers and a private security guard were killed, while six other people were injured as an armed man shot randomly after grabbing a weapon from a police officer near the Selander Bridge.
A member of the SGA security firm died in the exchange of fire and the assailant moved from Selander Bridge up to the French Embassy gate, firing randomly and as police started to close in.
In a message posted on her official twitter handle, the president sent a message of condolences to the police force as and the family of the security guard.
“I direct the police to thoroughly investigate the matter,” she said.
The drama began somewhere near Selander Bridge and continued along Ali Hassan Mwinyi Road, ending with the shooting of the gun-wielding assailant by police outside the embassy gate.
People on rooftops and vehicles captured images of the lone man with an assault rifle moving along the road but apparently not interested in attacking commuters and pedestrians.
Transport along the leafy major road was interrupted for much of the hour that followed as security officers headed to the area, dotted by embassies and commercial banks.
The man whose identity was not revealed by authorities though his name was picked on social media—was seen handing the assault rifles effortlessly and it took some time and a heavy deployment of officers to subdue him.
Amateur videos captured from different angles posted on social media showed the well-built man walk along the road unbothered by road users and stunned residents peeping from windows and capturing videos of him on mobile phones.
Going by the multiple footages captured by those who were close to him, the result would have been catastrophic if he turned the weapons on civilians in buses, pedestrians or nearby homes.
The Selander Bridge area which connects with a Upanga, Oysterbay and Kinondoni road junctions is surrounded by residents of foreign missions such as the French Embassy, Japanese Embassy, Kenyan High Commission, Russian Embassy and in close proximity to financial institutions such as Stanbic Bank and KCB Commercial Bank.
Briefing reporters, head of police operations Liberatus Sabas said that six others were injured in the incident, making efforts to discount the terrorism motive in the wake of social media reactions on the incident.
Commissioner of Police Sabas urged Dar es Salaam residents to remain calm as police continue with their investigation to identify the unknown assailant and his intentions.
“I call on the public to collaborate with the police, especially if anybody has information about him, to speed up investigations,” he appealed.
The incident happened just hours after Inspector General of Police (IGP), Simon Sirro told the nation that criminal activities had dropped by 12 per cent the past calendar year
Opening one-day workshop for regional police commanders and other senior officers at the Oysterbay Police Officers’ Mess, he said statistics show that crime is on the decline.
The IGP said from July 2020 to June 2021 the number of crime incidents reported in police stations reached 49,508 from 56,397 incidents reported in the 2019/2020 period.
