A 19-year-old armed robber is recovering in hospital with serious injuries after being beaten on Thursday morning by angry Esselen Park residents.
The teenage,r along with his two accomplices, had robbed the driver of a cigarette delivery vehicle of R500 at about 8am at the Esselen Park RDP houses.
According to Norkem Park SAPS spokesman, Capt Lesibana Molokomme, the driver of the cigarette vehicle was being followed by a light blue Toyota Tazz with three men inside.
“He stopped at a local spaza shop and when coming back to the car, two of the men pointed firearms at him. They demanded money and the cigarettes that were in the car,” Molokomme explained. The third suspect (driver) remained inside the Tazz.
The fast-thinking delivery driver shouted and pressed his hooter for help, alerting residents, who came out to see what was happening.
When the robbers saw the community coming, they fled. The one suspect, who had the R500 cash with him, managed to jump into the Tazz and the two sped off, leaving the teen behind.
He was caught and beaten by the community.
“When police arrived at the scene, the suspect was handed to the police with serious injuries and paramedics were called in to treat him.”
He has been taken to hospital where he is currently under police guard.
The 19-year-old will face charges of armed robbery and possession of an unlicensed firearm.
The other two suspects are still at large.
