Suspected house robber shot dead in Polokwane

Polokwane police spokesperson Captain Ntobeng Phala said police received a call at about 3.30am from one of the plots in Tweefontein, in which the caller sounded terrified, and they rushed to the scene.

It is alleged a 19-year-old man and his mother were asleep at their homestead when suddenly the boy heard someone tampering with the door of his room.

The man reportedly woke up and waited in anticipation, and in the process two men armed with a hammer and a broken bottle stormed the room and started demanding money from the boy, added Phala.

A scuffle ensued between the two men and the victim, and as a result the victim was stabbed in the head and on the arm. A laptop, cellphone, a bag containing a wallet and a tablet were taken as the two men proceeded to the mother’s room, said Phala.

It is believed the mother locked herself inside her room.

“When the two suspects returned from the man`s room, the boy was waiting with a firearm on his hands,” added Phala.

“Shots were fired, and in the process one of the suspects, 30, was shot twice in the chest. He was declared dead on the scene,” he said.

The second man escaped with the stolen items. The victim was rushed to hospital. Investigations are ongoing.

In a separate incident, cases of house robbery and murder were opened after a man was shot and killed in his home in Woodhill Golf Estate, Pretoria last month.

Police spokesperson Major Mack Mngomezulu said the couple were awake when they heard a commotion in the house. Upon investigation, they found two armed men on the property.

“The armed robbers spotted them and pointed a firearm in their direction. The men overpowered the couple before tying them up,” added Mngomezulu.

“The homeowner managed to untie himself and pursued the armed robbers. A fight broke out, and during the struggle a shot was discharged from the firearm, striking him in the upper body,” said Mngomezulu.

– Caxton News Service