Initial reports were of gunfire and two explosions at the hotel. By 16 January 2019, President Uhuru Kenyatta said that 14 people had been killed, including all the terrorists. Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement that was released during the attack. Mohammed Gichunge was the shooter but was quickly shot down by Kenya's Rekke Squad - an equivalent to America's SWAT. His accomplice and girlfriend fled to Somalia. The hotel was reopened in August.