Two people were injured as bystanders ran away from an armed robbery at a popular store in Pelican Park on Wednesday 27 July.
Grassy Park station commander Col Dawood Laing said four armed robbers entered Clicks near Shoprite in Pelican Park at around 13:15.
“Four armed robbers took money from two tills, to the value of R4 500. While they were in the shop, a money truck arrived to fill the ATMs which is when security guards saw the robbery and shots were fired.”
Laing added that two women were injured during the shoot-out.
“Two women were shot in the arm; one was taken to the day clinic and discharged the same day while a second woman was discharged from hospital the next day, they were bystanders and not inside (the store) at the time.”
He added that the community apprehended one robber while the three others got away.
During the same incident an armed robber also hijacked a motorist at the scene.
“A passenger in the hijacked vehicle fired shots at the robbers and the hijacked vehicle collided with another car at the corner of 15th Avenue and Strandfontein Road.”
Pastor Owen Davids, who was a passenger in the vehicle that was hijacked, said he noticed four armed men running from the direction of Shoprite as gunshots rang out.
“There were four of them who came out, I saw four guns and one robber ran after the car.
“He pointed his gun at the driver.”
Davids said everything happened so quickly that he had to duck and dive.
The pastor added that he drew his own gun and started firing shots at one of the suspects.
“I started shooting at one of them running across and as I was shooting at him, the others started shooting back at me and then we fired at each other.”
A short distance away, police officers and emergency vehicles cordoned off the scene where one of the alleged robbers was apprehended.
Berenice Halifax, from the New Horizon walking bus, said she heard around eight gunshots fired as she left her home in Pelican Park.
“As I came from my house, I heard the gunshots go off, so the community ran over and found one of the culprits who was hiding in someone’s backyard.”
