Police yesterday arrested two Chinese nationals who allegedly shot and killed a military police officer on Sunday while fleeing the scene of a robbery in Phnom Penh’s Por Sen Chey district.

After a days-long search that included the use of a drone to scour a forested area where the men were believed to be hiding, officers finally found the suspects hiding in a house near Phnom Penh International Airport, Por Sen Chey district police chief Yim Saran said.

The men are accused of killing 23-year-old military police officer Yen Rinung, who was working as a private security guard when he confronted the suspects on Sunday afternoon.

Police say Rinung had tried to stop the men from escaping after they raided the bookstore of a 51-year-old Chinese man, allegedly taking $500 and a necklace at gunpoint.

Another security guard was also injured by glass from windows shattered by bullets fired by the suspects.

Saran refused to identify the men or give further details about the arrest. “We are working on the case. [We] will tell their names tomorrow,” he said.

A commune police officer, who requested anonymity to speak about the case, said officers had surrounded the suspects’ hideout at about 10am and entered about an hour later. He said the suspects, both in their 40s, were taken to the district police station.

“Police are questioning them,” he said.