Kilifi County Commander Fredrick Ochien’g yesterday said the Chakama incident where an Italian volunteer was kidnapped and five people left nursing gunshot injuries was not a terrorist attack.

On Tuesday at about 8pm a gang of men armed with AK47 rifles attacked an orphanage at Chakama trading Centre firing widely. They  injured two men and three children and kidnapped 23 years Syllivia Constance a volunteer of Africa Milele Onlus,an NGO operating in the area. Speaking in his office, Ochieng’ said that police are treating it as a normal criminal act.

“There is no evidence that the incidence is a terrorist attack .What we know is that the men were of Somali origin and Al Shabab is a terrorist group and always any terrorist group will come out and pronounce if they have conducted any attack that is when we can conclude .Up to now we have not received any pronouncement to link them with the attack and that is why we cannot say Al Shabab,” said Ochien’g.

He added: Our multi agency team, including our KDF team is on the ground trying to trace them and we are hopefully that we will arrest them by the end of the day and we are asking members of public to volunteer information that can assist police on apprehending the attackers. The police boss said the attackers had motives to kidnap the foreigners.

“These foreign women have a children home which supports less fortunate in the area, it is a volunteer group .The latest information is that yesterday (Tuesday) during daytime they were four but they left and only one remained, the one that was kidnapped. The attacker had targeted the centre,” he said.

Ochien’g said this is a first incident of the kind in the County, however there has been several cases of normal crimes.

“Normal crimes happens where there are human beings. This incident had some motives of terrorism which has not been manifested,” he said.

The causalities are being treated at the Malindi Sub County Hospital.