A man was shot and an armed robber is suspected to have drowned in the Umgeni River following a shootout with a Blue Security armed response security officer on Sunday.
Blue Security operations director Brian Jackson said a police search and rescue team had attended the scene to search for a missing suspect who was believed to have drowned while attempting to evade arrest.
“Five suspects, two of them armed with firearms and one armed with a knife, entered a business premises in Aloefield Crescent in Springfield Park and started demanding cash from customers,” Jackson said.
A scuffle broke out and a shot went off injuring an innocent bystander in his leg, he said.
Jackson said an armed response officer had responded to an alarm activation at the premises at around 2.40pm.
“When he arrived at the scene, he noticed five men leaving the premises and he gave chase for about 40 metres in his vehicle until the suspects starting firing shots at him. He got out of his vehicle and returned fire. The suspects split up and fled in different directions and our officer continued to pursue them,” Jackson said.
Various security companies and the police responded swiftly to the scene of the crime.
“The police arrested one of the suspects 2km away who was found hiding in the reeds along the river near Intersite Avenue. A second suspect is believed to have drowned after he was seen with another suspect attempting to swim across the river to evade arrest. Three of the suspects got away with an undisclosed sum of cash.
A firearm was recovered at the scene,” Jackson said.
He said the SAPS search and rescue team were on the scene for several hours on Sunday looking for the suspect who is believed to have drowned.