Africa-Press – South-Africa. A 27-year-old suspected robber was killed in a shootout with Mpumalanga police in Emalahleni on Tuesday night, a second one is under police guard in hospital and two others were arrested.
According to police spokesperson Brigadier Selvy Mohlala, four armed men stormed into a restaurant at around 20:00, forced cashiers to empty the cash registers, and forced the manager to open the safe.
Police rushed to the scene and, after they spotted the getaway vehicle, a high-speed car chase ensued, Mohlala said.
“Realising that they could not outsmart the astute members, the suspects are said to have fired several shots towards the police as a possible way of trying to distract them. However, the suspects met their match as the men and women in blue returned fire. It was during the process that one of the alleged robbers was fatally shot,” he added.
A 35-year-old man is under police guard in hospital after he was wounded in the shootout.
One of the suspected robbers was arrested the same day and a fourth, who fled, was arrested the following day.
The two men who are in custody are expected to appear in the Emalahleni Magistrate’s Court on Thursday on charges of business robbery, attempted murder, and unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition.
An AK-47 assault rifle and two pistols that were seized will undergo ballistics testing to determine whether they were used in other criminal activities, Mohlala added.
He said the Independent Police Investigative Directorate would also conduct an inquiry into the shootout.
Mpumalanga police commissioner Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela commended the police for the arrests and for the recovery of the firearms.
“We indeed mean business when it comes to fighting crime, including violent crimes. We cannot stand and watch whilst our communities are victimised by crime and subjected to trauma. Let the law take its course,” she said.
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