Three police officers and a security guard have died in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, after a gunman went on a shooting spree in the city’s embassy district. The assailant was shot dead in the street outside the French Embassy.
A gunman has been shot dead by cops after opening fire near the French Embassy in Dar es Salaam, the Tanzanian Inspector General of Police (IGP) Simon Sirro told local media. He said the police were retracing the incident and attempting to identify the attacker.
Footage shared online purportedly shows the moment police fatally wounded the attacker after he appeared to try to engage a security guard in a firefight.
Local reports suggest the gunman approached Stanbic Bank’s Dar es Salaam headquarters in an area surrounded by foreign embassies, including those of Spain, Russia and France, before proceeding to a nearby police checkpoint. At this point he reportedly opened fire, killing two officers at close range.
A third police officer was also killed during the attacker’s spree, head of police operations Liberatus Sabas later confirmed to reporters. Tanzania's President Samia Suluhu Hassan later confirmed that a security guard was among the dead.
He then apparently seized the officers’ weapons and continued to roam the streets. Road users in the normally quiet part of town were forced to abandon their vehicles and run for cover, and witnesses said gunshots could be heard ringing around the city.
The US Embassy in Tanzania posted a security alert warning of an armed encounter outside the French embassy and advising American citizens to avoid the area.
No motive for the attack has been identified as of yet.
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