Police gunned down three armed robbers in Kisumu's Desnol petrol station along the Kisumu-Bondo road on Friday night.
The three were suspected to be on a mission to rob an Mpesa shop in Maseno area and a tip off from a good samaritan helped the police trail the three gangsters.
The three were cornered at the petrol station while refueling their car.
When asked to surrender, they refused prompting police to use force leading to a shoot out.
Kisumu County Commissioner Mohamed Maalim said police opened fire after the thugs threatened to shoot at them.
"The three gangasters were targetting an Mpesa shop in Maseno area and a tip off from the public made it easy to trail them. They were cornered at Desnol petrol station trying to refuel their car and when asked to surrender they refused. This prompted a shoot out that led to the gunning down of the three suspects," said Maalim.
The three have been linked to a notorious criminal gang in Kisumu that has been accused of terrorising locals.
An AK-47 rifle, 26 rounds of ammunition, two pangas and the vehicle were impounded after the shoot out with the thugs.
Maalim said the police are in pursuit of the other gang members and has asked Kisumu locals to provide any information leading to the arrest of criminals in the county.