Masked gunmen stormed an upmarket mall in the Kenyan capital Nairobi on Saturday and sprayed gunfire on shoppers and staff, killing at least six, AFP reporters and witnesses said. Several attackers and trapped civilians were believed to still be inside the large four-storey shopping centre more than two hours after the attack began, and heavy fire was heard as police units moved in.
Police and ambulances surrounded the Westgate mall, which is popular with wealthy Kenyans and expatriates and would have been packed with families on a sunny weekend day.
Terrified people could be seen running away from the compound clutching children while others crawled along walls to avoid stray bullets.
Kenneth Kerich, who was shopping when the attack happened, described scenes of panic.
“I suddenly heard gunshots and saw everyone running around so we lay down. I saw two people who were lying down and bleeding, I think they were hit by bullets,” he said.
“Initially we thought it is police fighting thugs. But we could not leave until when officers walked in, shot in the air and told us to get out.”
The motive of the attack was not immediately clear, but Kenyan media said the attackers, who witnesses said were black-clad and masked, may have been either armed robbers or “terrorists”.
An AFP television journalist saw three bodies laid out in front of the mall, their heads covered, and two more bodies inside.
An eyewitness who survived the assault by gunmen said he saw the body of a child being wheeled out of the mall.
“The gunmen tried to fire at my head but missed. At least 50 people were shot. There are definitely many casualties,” a mall employee, Sudjar Singh, told AFP.
“I saw a young boy carried out on a shopping cart, it looked like he was about five or six. It looked like he was gone, he was not moving or making any noise.”
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