A police Inspector, an orderly, was on Friday night shot dead by unknown gunmen at a pharmacy near the popular Landmark Hotel in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

Witnesses said the Inspector was shot at a pharmacy near the hotel by the assailants who reportedly made away with the inspector’s AK-47 rifle and beret.

“The assailants obviously were after the gun of the Inspector and they demanded for it after sighting him bearing a rifle. The Inspector struggled with the gunmen who demanded for his gun. In the course of the struggle, he was overpowered by the gunmen who shot at him pointblank and escaped with his gun,” a witness narrated.

The male police inspector was said to be escorting his principal when he was shot with the assailants escaping in a grey Toyota Corolla car.

Spokesperson for the Rivers State Police Command, Grace Iringe-Koko, has confirmed the incident.

“Effort is ongoing to arrest the fleeing hoodlums and recover the rifle,” the police said.

The police spokesperson said the corpse of the inspector has been deposited at the Military Hospital in Port Harcourt for autopsy.