As the deadly terror attack inside an upscale Nairobi shopping mall unfolded Saturday, New York Times photojournalist Tyler Hicks happened to be close to the scene, and followed police as they searched for militants.

In an interview with The Times' Lens blog, Hicks describes his experience and provides some powerful photos. He was at an adjacent framing shop when the attack kicked off, and despite not having all of his equipment, he did have his small camera which he keeps for moments like this.

"When I left the framing shop, I could see right away that there was something serious going on, because there were lots of people running away from the mall," Hicks told The Times' James Estrin. "I ran over there and within minutes I could see people who had been shot in the leg or stomach from what appeared to be small arms fire being helped by other civilians. This went on for about 30 minutes."

He ended up embedding with Kenyan police as they searched shop-by-shop to find the terrorists. Hicks is no stranger to combat, having served as a staff photographer in Afghanistan and Pakistan in the past.

The initial attack left 39 people dead and more than 150 wounded, and the crisis is ongoing — as Al Shabaab militants are still holding hostages inside a supermarket, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The interview with Hicks and his photos are worth a look. You can check them out here.