A man was injured when he was attacked in Thohoyandou near Musina on Thursday by a mob accusing him of attempted robbery, Limpopo police said.
Police arrested the man after rescuing him from the mob, Major Mashudu Malelo said.
He and another man were trying to rob a supermarket at gunpoint, but shoppers alerted other community members who pounced on the pair.
“We have arrested one suspect with an unlicensed firearm, he was already injured. The community members beat him viciously after he started firing at them.”
The second man managed to escape.
Malelo said a man was shot in the leg when the two men fired randomly in a desperate attempt to get away from the mob.
Police thanked the community for their help, but warned they should not take law into their own hands.
The arrested man would appear in the Thohoyandou Magistrate's Court as soon as he was declared fit to stand trial by doctors, Malelo said. - Sapa