Fleeing robbers shoot bystander
2008-03-26 11:57
Durban - An elderly woman - walking along a Phoenix street - was shot by robbers fleeing from a crime scene, Durban police said on Wednesday.
Inspector Michael Read said five men - three armed - had entered the Smilesons shop in Phoenix on Tuesday evening and held staffers at gunpoint.
"They took an undisclosed amount of cash and while fleeing they fired a shot. The bullet struck a bystander on the side of her stomach."
The woman was rushed to a local hospital and is reportedly in a stable condition.
Read said no arrests had been made yet.
In a separate armed robbery incident in Newcastle, fast police action resulted in two robbers being arrested while fleeing the crime scene.
Captain Shooz Magudulela said three armed men had robbed the SSS service station in Newcastle on Tuesday and fled by car with a substantial amount of cash.
The car was abandoned at a nearby mall and the three robbers fled in different directions on foot.
"Police were alerted by shoppers and immediately began searching for the suspects with descriptions of them supplied by the service station staffers," he said.
Two were arrested a short while later while the third robber was still at large, he said.
Police said the money was not found and it was suspected that the cash was in the possession of the third robber.
In a third separate armed robbery, a Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet at the Berea Railway Station in Durban was held up by one gunmen at 19:00 on Tuesday.
An undisclosed amount of cash was taken and no injuries were reported.
Read said no arrests had been made in the case.
- SAPA