Mqala said: “At about 7.40pm on Sunday two armed males came to the spaza shop. They drew their pistols and pointed them at the shop owner, demanding money.
“The two left the shop with an undisclosed amount of money and cigarettes. No shots were fired.”
But as they fled on foot to the getaway car, they encountered a police vehicle.
According to Mqala, the robbers began shooting at the police officers, who returned fire.
Mqala said one man was killed as his accomplice and the driver of the getaway vehicle fled with the cash.
Mqala said the dead man’s pistol was left on the scene and a second pistol, believed to have been used in the robbery and shootout, was discovered near the spaza shop the following day.
Cops shoot spaza robber dead as accomplices flee with cash
An armed robber was shot dead by police in a spaza shop robbery in Sunset Bay, East London on Sunday.
After trading gunfire with police, the man’s two accomplices managed to speed off in a getaway vehicle parked near the targeted shop.
East London police spokesperson Captain Hazel Mqala said the thugs remained at large with an undisclosed amount of money.
The case has been handed over to the Eastern Cape provincial police’s organised crime unit.
Bullets fly as cops nab two suspects for double murder
Mqala said: “At about 7.40pm on Sunday two armed males came to the spaza shop. They drew their pistols and pointed them at the shop owner, demanding money.
“The two left the shop with an undisclosed amount of money and cigarettes. No shots were fired.”
But as they fled on foot to the getaway car, they encountered a police vehicle.
According to Mqala, the robbers began shooting at the police officers, who returned fire.
Mqala said one man was killed as his accomplice and the driver of the getaway vehicle fled with the cash.
Mqala said the dead man’s pistol was left on the scene and a second pistol, believed to have been used in the robbery and shootout, was discovered near the spaza shop the following day.
WATCH | Ipid investigating Cape Town shootout in which two killed by cops
Also on Sunday, three men were arrested by Lusikisiki police after a man was killed at a petrol station.
Mthatha police spokesperson Captain Dineo Koena said the victim was stabbed at 11pm while waiting for a friend.
The unidentified victim succumbed to his wounds on Monday.
Three suspects, aged between 24 and 28, were arrested by police on Monday night.
They appeared in the magistrate’s court in Lusikisiki on Tuesday and were remanded in custody until their next court appearance on January 21.
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