A police officer and a suspect were rushed to hospital after shots were fired during a jewellery store robbery on Church Street in Pietermaritzburg on Wednesday.
Provincial police spokesperson Colonel Thembeka Mbele said employees at a jewellery shop in the Pietermaritzburg CBD were confronted by an armed man at 3.15pm.
“He threatened the employees with a firearm and told them to place the jewellery in the plastic bag. Fearing for their lives, they did as instructed and handed the jewellery to him,” she said.
Mbele said officers who were conducting crime prevention duties received a complaint of a robbery in progress and proceeded to the business premises together with other law enforcement agencies.
“On their arrival, the suspect spotted the police and opened fire, wounding a 55-year-old police sergeant in the abdomen,” said Mbele.
Shaheen Suleiman, the owner of Magma Security & Investigations, said that Magma reaction officers arrived at the crime scene first and the suspect fired a shot at a Magma security guard. He said the guard returned fire.
“The suspect was shot in the upper right chest and left arm by a Magma Security Officer,” he said.
Mbele said the suspect then placed his firearm on the table and surrendered to police.
Magma Security said the police officer underwent an emergency operation while the suspect was taken to Grey's Hospital.
“The 36-year-old suspect is in hospital under police guard and will appear in the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate’s Court for charges of attempted murder, possession of an unlicensed firearm and robbery once he is discharged,” said Mbele.
THE MERCURY