Six people were arrested following a robbery and shoot-out at Centurion Mall near Pretoria on Friday morning, Gauteng police said.<\/p>\n
“In a swift reaction, Lyttelton sector members averted a cellular shop robbery and stopped a Quantum which was escaping with smartphones stolen from a cellular shop at Centurion Mall today,” Lt-Gen Lesetja Mothiba said.<\/p>\n
“As a result, six suspects were arrested, three firearms and two bags full of cellular phones were recovered.”<\/p>\n
Police in the area serving a protection order heard over police radio about the robbery, and saw the Quantum the robbers were using and ordered them to stop.<\/p>\n
“The driver of the Quantum stopped and one of the suspects pulled out a firearm and tried to shoot at the police. However, he and another suspect were shot and injured,” said Mothiba.<\/p>\n
“The suspects had earlier held up staff at a Vodacom cellular shop at Centurion Mall. They then forced the employees to load the phones in two bags and later locked everybody including customers in a back office.”<\/p>\n
However, the manager of the shop had a spare key, unlocked the back office and called police.<\/p>\n
“The suspects will soon appear in court facing business robbery, [and] possession of suspected stolen property [charges],” Mothiba said.<\/p>\n
Business robbery up 14% in SA<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n R1 million stolen in SA iStore robbery<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n