The Masoyi police in Mpumalanga are investigating a case of murder and robbery after Ethiopian shop owner Salamu Kalbamu (27) was shot and killed.

Kalbamu was attacked on September 18, by an unknown assailant.

According to the spokesperson for the Masoyi Police Station, Sergeant Naniki Nonyane, a man who pretended to be a customer waited for the store to open.

“According to an employee at the shop, the suspects noticed that she was busy cleaning and would soon be opening the main door. When she eventually opened, the man pushed her into the shop and pointed a gun at her and the shop owner.

“The man told the owner to move away from the till, and despite doing as he was told, he was shot in the head. The armed robber proceeded to the till and took some money. He fled the scene on foot. While running, he was joined by three other men,” Nonyane says.

She says the victim was declared dead by paramedics on the scene, but the employee was unharmed. The perpetrators are still at large and the investigation is ongoing.

“I would like to warn foreign shop owners to refrain from sleeping where they operate their businesses… they also need to bank their money. We have had similar cases in the area where these criminals target these shops in the morning or at midnight. The criminals know there is money inside the shops and target them.

“The shop owners must try to take some of the money to the bank during the day and have proper security at the businesses to avoid being targeted,” she says.

Nonyane calls on members of the public with any information to contact Crime Stop number on 08600 10111 or to send information via the My SAPS app.