The police spokesperson, Motantshi Makhele, says four African men managed to escape with an undisclosed amount of cash and robbed a security guard’s handgun during the incident. He says a case of armed robbery is being investigated by the police.

The incident occurred around 19:15 in Moritz Street, Dagbreek. Makhele says customers were being served as usual when five men approached the cashier with guns and demanded cash. They instructed the cashier to open the office and took cash registers as well. A security guard on duty tried to advance on the suspects, however, he was shot in the chest. His pistol was then taken from him.

Meanwhile, the manager of the supermarket was informed about the incident and drove to the premises with his vehicle. He allegedly ran over one of the suspects. The suspect fired three shots towards the vehicle and hit him in the left upper leg. They were both admitted to a nearby hospital. One of the bags with money was found during the preliminary investigation at the crime scene.

OFM News reported last week a popular food retailer in Virginia, less than 20km away from Welkom, was robbed on Monday night, 10 minutes before closing time. A total of four armed suspects accosted staff at the food retailer at 19:50, demanding cash. The robbed a sizable amount of money from the tills before fleeing the scene on foot. The manager of the store was hit over the head with a gun by one of the suspects. Makhele said the suspects are still at large but their identities are known to authorities.

OFM News