Bullets flew at a popular Port Alfred shopping mall yesterday afternoon when four men robbed security guards of an undisclosed sum of money before fleeing on foot into nearby bushes.
Police spokesman Lieutenant Luvuyo Mjekula said a 34-year-old man had been arrested after an intensive police search and that the manhunt for the other three suspects was continuing late yesterday.
“The armed men held up two security company guards as they were loading money into an ATM at the mall at about 1pm.
“The two guards were tied up and their cellphones and keys seized by the robbers, who fled with an undisclosed amount of cash.”
According to Mjekula, the four fled on foot after loading the money into a getaway car – which sped off chased by a third employee of the cash transporting company who was in the truck during the heist.
Gunshots were fired as the men fled into nearby bushes while the getaway car sped away in a different direction.
“Police immediately launched a manhunt in the bushes and arrested a suspect.”
Mjekula said no-one was injured during the shootout.
An eyewitness said he saw the men running across the car park taking “potshots” at the guards. “I saw one of the guards lying on the floor with his hands tied behind his back.
“The men fired four shots before running across the main road.”
The witness, who declined to give his name, said the men also took a shot at the guard in the van, shattering the outer window.
“They fired plenty of shots at cars driving on the main road to try and force them to stop and hijack passing vehicles.”
He said the men fired more than a dozen shots during the four-minute drama. — davidm@dispatch.co.za
Man arrested, cops launch manhunt after robbery at Port Alfred mall
Police spokesman Lieutenant Luvuyo Mjekula said a 34-year-old man had been arrested after an intensive police search and that the manhunt for the other three suspects was continuing late yesterday.
“The armed men held up two security company guards as they were loading money into an ATM at the mall at about 1pm.
“The two guards were tied up and their cellphones and keys seized by the robbers, who fled with an undisclosed amount of cash.”
According to Mjekula, the four fled on foot after loading the money into a getaway car – which sped off chased by a third employee of the cash transporting company who was in the truck during the heist.
Gunshots were fired as the men fled into nearby bushes while the getaway car sped away in a different direction.
“Police immediately launched a manhunt in the bushes and arrested a suspect.”
Mjekula said no-one was injured during the shootout.
An eyewitness said he saw the men running across the car park taking “potshots” at the guards. “I saw one of the guards lying on the floor with his hands tied behind his back.
“The men fired four shots before running across the main road.”
The witness, who declined to give his name, said the men also took a shot at the guard in the van, shattering the outer window.
“They fired plenty of shots at cars driving on the main road to try and force them to stop and hijack passing vehicles.”
He said the men fired more than a dozen shots during the four-minute drama. — davidm@dispatch.co.za
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