A suspected robber died in a shootout with police.
(Photo by Gallo Images/Die Burger/Jaco Marais)
A suspected robber died in a shootout with police while six other people were arrested after two retail stores were robbed in the Tshwane metro on Sunday.
In the first store robbery, 10 gunmen entered a shop at Soshanguve Crossing Mall and held up the employees. The robbers took cellphones, laptops, clothes and an undisclosed amount of cash, said police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Mavela Masondo.
“Police and private security guards followed up leads and found suspects in The Orchards. The suspects fired shots at the police and a shootout ensued. One suspect was fatally wounded and two more were arrested. Police recovered items suspected to have been stolen from the shop,” said Masondo.
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In the second incident, three armed men robbed a shop at the Kopanong Complex in Temba, Hammanskraal, of around 40 new cellphones. Three suspected robbers who were found with six unlicensed firearms in their possession were taken into custody.
“The arrested suspects will be profiled, and the firearms will be taken for ballistic tests to establish if they are linked to other crimes. The suspects will be charged with business robbery, attempted murder, possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition. More charges could be added,” said Masondo.