Robbers hid behind schoolchildren in shoot-out

2011-06-24 14:16

Cape Town – Two primary schoolchildren were wounded when suspected robbers fleeing from police ran into a crowd of pupils in Johannesburg, Parktown.

School worker Mkhuseli Ngxabane told News24 he and other Roseneath Primary School personnel were alerted to the incident when children who had been let off earlier on their last day of the school term ran back into the school yard.

“That’s when we ran outside and saw everything,” he said.

According to Ngxabane a number of men had been trying to rob a cash van on the corner of Empire and Queens roads, unaware that there was a policeman in a private vehicle nearby.

“The tsotsis tried to shoot and escape and hide behind the learners,” he said.

The learners, believed to be girls between the ages of 11 and 13 were wounded in the ensuing shoot-out, Ngxabane said.

One of the girls was shot in the shoulder while the other was shot in the hand. The pupils were taken to a local hospital, he said.
 
According to Sapa one of the robbers had pointed a firearm at the driver of the security company van. The robber tried to discharge two shots but the gun jammed.

The robbers managed to escape and no arrests were made, Lieutenant Colonel Tshisikhawe Ndou told Sapa.

Ndou said the guard driving the targeted van was carrying an amount of R100 000 which he withdrew earlier, for the company he works for.

It was unclear whether the police or the robbers shot the children, Ndou said.

- News24