Man arrested at The Zone for armed robbery with a fake gun
Rosebank police nabbed a suspect alleged to have robbed business employees using a fake firearm.
According to police, the 27-year-old suspect, along with his 13-year-old brother, were pretending to be shoppers when they entered a store at The Zone@Rosebank.
The two allegedly went into a shop which was about to close, where the elder suspect drew a firearm and forced the employees into a room where he tied them up, police said.
The younger suspect then proceeded to take the wrist watches off the employees – police said he was crying at this stage. The two then fled the scene, however one of the employees managed to free herself and ran out the shop and shouted for other people to catch the suspects.
An onlooker managed to grab the bag with valuables from the suspects, while another onlooker was able to foil the escape of the 27-year-old suspect as he tried to flee. Police were called to the scene and arrested him.
The teen managed to escape.
Upon further investigation, police established that the firearm used during the robbery was fake. Rosebank Police spokesperson Sergeant Bongi Mdletshe said the estimated value of the watches was R200 000.
The suspect is expected to appear in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on charges of business robbery.
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