Westgate Mall shooting
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 | This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses. |
| Westgate Shopping Mall shooting | |
|---|---|
Westgate Shopping Mall
| |
| Location | Westlands, Nairobi, Kenya |
| Coordinates | 1°15′24.49″S 36°48′11.82″E |
| Date | 21 September 2013 ~12:00-12:30 onwards for at least four hours |
| Attack type | Mass murder, shooting |
| Weapon(s) | |
| Deaths | ~39 [2] |
| Injured (non-fatal) | ~150[2] |
| Perpetrator | al-Shabaab |
On 21 September 2013, ten unidentified gunmen attacked an upscale shopping mall inNairobi, Kenya, fatally shooting dozens of people (at least 39 by the last count), and wounding about 150 more in a mass shooting.
Contents
[hide]Background
A week before the incident, and a month after UN warnings of attacks, Kenyan police claimed to have disrupted a major attack in its final stages of planning after arresting two people with suicide vests packed with ball bearings, grenades and AK-47 assault rifles. The two suspects were from a Nairobi neighborhood where Somali immigrants reside. A manhunt was also launched for eight more suspects.[3]
Shooting
At about 12:00,[4][5] masked gunmen[6] attacked the upscale Nairobi Westgate centre in Westlands district as it was hosting a children's day event.[7] The fighting is ongoing with armed police for at least four hours later.[3] The gunmen reportedly carried assault rifles and wore combat fatigues. There were additional reports of grenade explosions. Police surrounded the area and urged residents to stay away. A report indicated that about 80 people were trapped in the basement, but police said that they had escorted some shoppers to safety and were trying to capture the gunmen.[4] The Secretary-General of the Kenyan Red Cross Abbas Gullet said that rescue workers could not reach some of the patrons in the mall. Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo wrote on Twitter that "police at the scene and the area is surrounded."[7] Military helicopters were also above the mall.[8]
Rob Vandijk, an employee of the Dutch embassy, said that while he was eating at a restaurant the attack commenced with grenades and was then followed by gunfire as patrons screamed as they dropped to the ground. Other witnesses said the attack began at the outdoor seating area of Artcaffe at the front of the mall. An Artcaffe employee, Patrick Kuria, said: "We started by hearing gunshots downstairs and outside. Later we heard them come inside. We took cover. Then we saw two gunmen wearing black turbans. I saw them shoot." Some of the casualties were shot at the entrance to the mall after gunfire moved outside and a standoff then commenced with police. Ambulances were present at the mall as they started moving emerging victims. Reports indicated the presence of children, including patrons carrying small children. Mall security guards used shopping carts to ferry out wounded children.[7]
Nation TV footage showed dozens of people escaping from a back entrance. Bloomberg correspondent Marco Lui was on the second floor of the mall when the attack started; he said that two explosions happened within about five minutes of each other. "We heard a noise from the ground floor and people started running to the parking area on the rooftop. They were panicking and then the second blast went off and people were even more panicked." Other eyewitnesses said that in addition to grenades, the attackers used AK-47s.[9] Twenty people were rescued from a toy shop on the upper floor, while a woman writing on Twitter under the name "Shirley Ghetto" was hiding under mattresses in the mall, and asked: "Is it safe to come out from hiding? It's quiet. Have the cops tackled the culprits? Please keep me updated. #Westgate." As the Kenyan army troops arrived, they used tear gas to try and smoke out the attackers from the cinema complex. There were also vehicles riddled with bullet holes were left abandoned in front of the mall. Kimaiyo said: "Our officers are on the ground carrying out an evacuation of those inside as they search for the attackers who are said to be inside."[3] A police officer said that the gunmen were barricaded inside the Nakumatt supermarket. He said that there were three bodies there while he pointed to a pool of blood by a children's shoe shop. He then pointed to hamburger bar where music still played and indicated more bodies were found there.[10]
By nightfall, the mall remained sealed off to the public while security services searched floor by floor for the gunmen, who were believed to be inside with the hostages.[8] People continued to trickle out from hiding places.[11] Internal Security Minister Mutea Iringostated that the government was in control of the situation. Kimaiyo wrote on Twitter that several assailants had been pinned down after security forces moved into the mall.[12]
Victims
At least 39 people have been reported dead and 150 wounded, according to the Kenyan Red Cross;[8] Although a government official, Joseph Ole Lenku, has only confirmed eleven deaths, eyewitnesses reportedly saw some 50 bodies in the mall.[13] Three dozen people were taken as hostages[14] at the supermarket and a jewelry store;[13] other eyewitnesses also said that they had seen dozens wounded.[5] An unnamed local hospital reported that it was overwhelmed with the number of wounded being brought in and that it had consequently diverted them to a second facility.[7] There were reportedly British citizens in the mall, but apparently none were harmed.[3]Americans were also injured in the attack, but the majority of casualties are Kenyan.[15]
Investigation
British police officers who are based in Kenya arrived on the scene to help Kenyan counter terrorism officials and an investigation had begun. Security was also tightened in public places across Kenya.[16] Kenyan security forces had arrested one of the gunmen, according to the Kenyan presidency's Twitter account.[12]
Perpetrators
An eyewitness said that the attackers had told Muslims to leave and that non-Muslims would be targeted. The incident follows warnings from al-Shabaab in late 2011 that it would carry out attacks in Kenya in retaliation for Operation Linda Nchi as part ofAMISOM.[5] Sargeant Major Frank Mugungu said that he saw four male and one female attackers, but that he could clearly identify only one of the gunmen as a Somali.[11] Witnesses claimed that they heard Arabic or Somali being spoken. The Sunday Telegraphclaimed that it had seen United Nations documents that warned last month of an "attempted large-scale [terror] attack" as "elevated."[3]
After several hours, al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack.[12]
Reactions
Nairobi police chief Benson Kibue called the incident a "terrorist" attack and added that there were likely no more than 10 perpetrators involved.[17]
The Ministry of Interior released a statement that read: "It is a possibility that it is an attack by terrorists, so we are treating the matter very seriously."[10] Senator Billow Kerrow from Mandera County in Nairobi said: "It's too early to know what kind of people these are, but from what we are getting, these are people who speak in the Swahili language. They are people who seem to know what they are doing, are pretty much organised. It's really quite a shocking thing because from what we're getting, they aren't ordinary thugs.[4]
International
British Foreign Secretary William Hague released a statement that read: "We are aware of a major security incident underway at the Westgate Shopping Centre in Nairobi. We are in close contact with the Kenyan authorities on the ground in Kenya and at [the] ministerial level in the United Kingdom. The prime consideration at present is the welfare of members of the public caught up in this incident."[18][19]
Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Ilana Stein said the attack took place near but not inside the Israeli-owned ArtCaffe. She added that one Israeli was lightly injured and three others escaped unharmed, and that the Kenyan interior minister[who?] said Israelis were not targeted. "This time, the story is not about Israel. The minister is saying that this is an internal Kenyan issue. His security forces tell him that this terror organisation was not targeting Israelis."[8]
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud cautioned against prejudgment in saying from Washington D.C. that "we don't have any proof that the people who did this are Somali."[10]
The U.S. State Department's spokeswoman, Marie Harf, said that its citizens were reportedly among the injured and also condemned the "senseless act of violence. We have reports of American [sic] citizens injured in the attack, and the U.S. embassy is actively reaching out to provide assistance."[12]
Terrorist organisations
al-Shabaab's Twitter outlet posted messages, amongst them some read: "The attacks are just retribution for the lives of innocent Muslims shelled by Kenyan jets in Lower Jubba and in refugee camps;" "What Kenyans are witnessing at #Westgate is retributive justice for crimes committed by their military, albeit largely minuscule in nature;" "Since our last contact, the Mujahideen inside the mall confirmed to @HSM_Press that they killed over 100 Kenyan kuffar & battle is ongoing;" "For long we have waged war against the Kenyans in our land, now it’s time to shift the battleground and take the war to their land;" "The attack at #WestgateMall is just a very tiny fraction of what Muslims in Somalia experience at the hands of Kenyan invaders" and "The Kenyan government, however, turned a deaf ear to our repeated warnings and continued to massacre innocent Muslims in Somalia." [sic][20]
References
- ^ http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/21/us-kenya-attack-idUSBRE98K03V20130921
- ^ a b "At least 39 killed in Nairobi shopping mall attack". RT. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
- ^ a b c d e "Nairobi shopping mall attacks: Britons among those caught up in terrorist assault". Telegraph. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
- ^ a b c "Deadly gunbattle in Nairobi shopping mall". Al Jazeera English. Retrieved 2013-09-21.
- ^ a b c "Witness: Kenya mall attackers told Muslims to leave, non-Muslims would be targeted". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2013-09-21.
- ^ "Kenya mall shooting kills at least 22". Cbc.ca. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
- ^ a b c d Bhatti, Jabeen (21 September 2013). "Non-Muslims targeted in deadly mall attack, Kenyans say". USA Today.
- ^ a b c d New York Times coverage of the attack on Westgate Centre, Nairobi
- ^ Ombok, Eric (17 September 2013). "Kenya Forces Deployed at Nairobi Shopping Mall After Gunfire". Bloomberg. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
- ^ a b c "Kenya mall attack: At least 25 dead, one gunmen arrested". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2013-09-21.
- ^ a b Jason Straziuso. "Kenya Red Cross: 22 Dead in Upscale Mall Attack". Abcnews.go.com. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
- ^ a b c dhttp://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2013/09/2013921174856564470.html
- ^ a b "Nairobi Westgate Mall Siege: Up to 100 Feared Dead and Injured in Battle with Islamic Gunman". Ibtimes.co.uk. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
- ^ "At least 30 killed in Nairobi mall attack; one of suspects dead". Edition.cnn.com. 17 September 2013. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
- ^ "Terrorist Attack in Kenya Mall leaves over 30 Dead". Retrieved 21 September 2013.
- ^ "'25 killed' in Kenya mall siege". Itv.com. Retrieved 2013-09-21.
- ^ "Gunmen throw grenades at mall in Nairobi, Kenya". News.com.au. Retrieved 2013-09-21.
- ^ Foreign & Commonwealth Office. "Foreign Secretary comments on security incident in Nairobi". GOV.UK. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
- ^ "William Hague (WilliamJHague) on Twitter". Twitter.com. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
- ^ https://twitter.com/HSM_Press
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