VANDERBIJLPARK. – ATM bombing and business robbery are becoming a norm for a Shell garage on the outskirts of Vanderbijlpark CBD.
A couple of months later, workers at the filling station witnessed yet another series of brazen robberies at the hands of a group of armed thugs.
This time, a trio of night shift staffers, motorists, and commuters were robbed of their belongings before the group ravaged the ATM.
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In the wee hours of Friday, March 29, about seven men arrived at the garage driving in a family car, what happened after that was nothing short of a film.
Speaking to Sedibeng Ster, a staffer explained how the robbery happened from a point of view.
“It was a normal night shift until we saw dozens of men flocking to the garage. They started robbing everyone before they went into the convenience store and emptied the cash tills. Everyone who was at the filling station, including customers were pointed with firearms the entire,” said the staffer.
“I could hear the other men from the group telling one of theirs to finish emptying the tills before they went on to bomb an ATM in the vicinity,” said the shaken employee.
Three loud bangs echoed through the community of Bophelong as the ATM was ravaged to the ground with the small brick shelter destroyed, leaving the safes exposed.
In a swift response, security personnel responded to the incident meeting with the armed gang on their way to evade the scene.
A customer who was also robbed during the robbery [name withheld for safety] said all he recalled was hearing a flood of gunshots moments after the big bangs.
“It was a shooting marathon with the armed gang firing at the security guy who was responding to the robbery in progress. I saw the man guard being shot as he continued to return fire before the group left the scene,” said the customer.
Police both at Vanderbijlpark and Gauteng Provincial offices could not respond to dozens of inquiries made by Sedibeng Ster.
