The hypothesis that a sniper may have shot a woman who suddenly died in Nairobi's Kaunda Street has been disproven by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations' ballistics specialists (DCI).

PHOTO | COURTESY the DCI Headquarters in Kiambu Road Nairobi

On February 13, while Mary Gatenya, 46, was returning from her job at the National Hospital Insurance Fund, she passed out in the street (NHIF).

The victim was slain by a 9mm handgun, according to DCI director Mohamed Amin's ballistic analysis of the bullet from the deceased's body.

"Based on my experience, that wasn't a sniper's work. For more accuracy, snipers typically choose guns with longer barrels. "The accuracy decreases with barrel length, Amin. Remarked on Tuesday.

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The information discovery was on the day after authorities detained a licensed gun owner from Murang'a in connection with the fatal shooting of Gatenya.

However, it turned out that even though the suspect was present at the scene when the incident happened, a ballistic analysis of his gun disqualified him from being the one used to fire the fatal shot.

Due to the recent findings, homicide investigators must examine the circumstances surrounding the victim's death, particularly where the shooter was, and look into other leads.

Gunman theory

When they followed the sniper theory, operatives with the DCI roped off a portion of Kaunda Street on February 16 to triangulate a potential sniper location.

PHOTO | COURTESY DCI boss Amin Mohammed

A day after a pathologist's examination of a victim who had slumped at the location suggested she may have been shot at from an elevated angle, the agents, which included crime scene investigators and forensic experts, shut off the street.

First, authorities and on-scene witnesses believed the 46-year-old had passed away naturally.

A homicide investigation stated when a pathologist examined Gathenya's body discovered a gunshot lodged in her lungs.

The victim's body is said to have been entered through the collarbone by the bullet, which then stopped in the lungs.

The woman reportedly complained of chest symptoms just before she passed out at around 5 o'clock, according to witnesses and police.

The victim's coworkers summoned an ambulance, which arrived just in time, but the first responders pronounced her dead there.