A policeman was killed as unknown gunmen at a checkpoint around Famgbe community in the Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
The gunmen were said to have left another policeman injured durkng the attack on Saturday.
The motive behind the attack was yet to be ascertained, but a security source said the policemen were carrying out a routine stop-and-search operation in the area when they came under ambush by the gunmen.
The security source said the police patrol was sequel to intelligence indicating an increase in violent crimes along the Famgbe-Ayama axis of the Yenagoa suburbs.
According to the security source, who spoke in confidence, the policemen engaged the hoodlums in a gun duel, which forced them to escape into the bush.
But the deceased officer fell to the bullets of the assailants while another was wounded in the gunfire exchange.
A police source confirmed the incident, saying one officer was killed, another wounded while a child, who was also scratched by a bullet, was stabilised at a clinic.
The source said that the police were on the trail of the attackers.
