Ladysmith KZN – As three robbers fled the scene of an armed robbery, police opened fire, wounding one of the suspects. The suspect was rushed to hospital, where he later died.

 

The robbery was at Pep Stores in Illing Road, where three unknown male suspects entered the store, brandishing firearms. The suspects pointed their guns at the employees and ordered them to go to the office, where they were made to lie down.

 

One of the employees was ordered to go with the robbers to the storeroom and was forced to open a safe.

 

The employee only had a key that opened a secure area with cell-phones, which the robbers loaded into a bag.

It was at this stage that they were warned that police were arriving at the scene. No shots had been fired by the suspects during the robbery at the shop.

 

 

One of the suspects was spotted by a chasing K9 officer… The 25-year-old suspect drew a pistol and shot at the officer, who returned fire, shooting him in the head. He was rushed to hospital and later died due to his injuries.

A second suspect, aged 21 years old, was arrested with a fake gun (toy) and detained in Ladysmith police cells. He will appear in the Ladysmith Magistrate’s Court soon, facing business robbery charges.

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Earlier that morning, four suspects were arrested after attempting to rob the Check Save Supermarket. An unknown male suspect grabbed an employee’s hand and she was taken to the manager’s office, where another two unknown suspects joined them. The victims were forced to sit down. The manager was assaulted and had a firearm pointed at him. The suspects took money and fled.

 

Ladysmith police were informed and arrived at the scene within minutes, whereupon they began to search for the suspects. It wasn’t long before four suspects aged between 24 and 30 were arrested and detained in Ladysmith police cells. They will appear in the Ladysmith Magistrate’s Court soon, facing charges of business robbery.

 

Brigadier Bantham (Uthukela District Commander) commended, thanked and applauded the good work done by the Ladysmith police officers and Ladysmith K9 Unit members. “The criminals in Ladysmith are doing as they please; they are committing serious offences as they wish. There have been business robberies in Ladysmith before, especially in Illing Road and in the central business district (CBD), where firearms believed to be unlicensed were used. People are requested to hand over unlicensed firearms to the police, since the Firearm Amnesty is in place and people will not be charged; but instead of doing that, criminals are committing offences with the same unlicensed firearms.

 

“We recently lost a female police officer from Ezakheni because of these firearms, and we nearly lost another member again on Thursday (September 24). I am requesting everyone, including business people, to take extra caution when they are operating their businesses. If they notice something that is suspicious, they must not hesitate to contact the police,” concluded Brigadier Bantham.