Laudium handbag robber shoots at bystanders who try to help
“He was sitting on some stairs near a tuck shop. He got up, approached me and grabbed my bag.”
Laudium police are looking for a man who fired “warning shots” at a woman whom he robbed of her handbag and cellphone on Wednesday.
He then fired several shots at residents who ran after him trying to help her catch him.
The incident happened in the Ahimsa Crescent area on Wednesday.
The victim, who did not want to be named, told Rekord that the man “didn’t look suspicious” and she didn’t think that she would get robbed.
“He was sitting on some stairs near a tuck shop. He got up, approached me and grabbed my bag,” she said.
“When I refused to give him my bag and phone, he pulled out a firearm and shot twice into the ground.”
The robber then ran away with her belongings.
Local ward councillor Prajay Ramjee said security officials immediately went to the nearby hills to check whether the man was still in the area.
“We found the victim with a group of community members who were also shot at when they tried to help her,” Ramjee said.
“In total, six shots were fired.”
Bystanders alerted the police, but the suspect was gone by the time they arrived.
Ramjee said it was the second such incident at the same spot in recent weeks.
Police spokesperson Simon Chokoe said they have since opened attempted murder and robbery cases.
“We have launched a manhunt for a male suspect.
“We are asking members of the community to please come forward with any information that might assist us and lead to the suspect’s arrest,” Chokoe said.
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