Rustenburg - Residents of Meriting, near Rustenburg, killed an alleged robber, North West police said on Wednesday.
A group chased four people who had robbed an Ethiopian-owned shop at gunpoint at 11.30am on Tuesday, Colonel Sabata Mokgwabone said in a statement.
The four allegedly stole an undisclosed amount of cash, airtime vouchers, and cigarettes.
“The community were alerted of the incident and they chased and arrested the suspects. The suspects were then severely assaulted by the violent mob and one of them died later on the way to the hospital.”
The other three sustained serious injuries and were under police guard in hospital.
North West provincial police commissioner, Lt-Gen Zukiswa Mbombo, condemned the violence.
“When the community arrests criminals, they are obliged to hand them over to the police so that they can be dealt with in accordance with the law,” she said.
Sapa