Johannesburg - A six-year-old boy was wounded by a stray bullet and two suspected robbers are dead after three shootouts and a robbery attempt at four shopping centres across Gauteng at the weekend.
On Sunday, the child was in a serious condition after he was shot in the shoulder while sitting in a car parked at the Lifestyle Centre in Centurion.
Police spokesperson Captain Kay Makhubele said three men wearing balaclavas and driving a Mini Cooper pounced on a woman who had just pulled up in a Range Rover. The woman had just driven into the centre when the men accosted her and took some of her belongings.
Makhubele said: “They took her jewellery and cellphone and fled.”
An alert security guard fired shots at the thugs. “Unfortunately, one of the bullets hit the boy, who was sitting in a car,” he added.
ER24 paramedics found the child on the back seat of the vehicle. It is believed he was asleep when the shooting started.
“One of the stray bullets penetrated the vehicle and struck the child’s shoulder. Bystanders told paramedics that the parents came back to their car and found people gathered around,” said ER24 spokesperson Werner Vermaak.
The boy was stabilised on the scene and rushed to hospital.
At the time of publication, no arrests had been made.
Meanwhile, a robbery and a shootout at a Ford dealership next to Greenstone Mall in Edenvale on Sunday morning left one robber dead and four others in handcuffs.
“Police were near the boomed gates of the mall when they were alerted to a robbery in progress at the dealership,” Makhubele said.
“The suspects stole three Ford Rangers, but police got to them in time because they had been patrolling the mall. A shootout ensued and one of the suspects was killed,” he said.
In the third incident, three men were arrested at Maponya Mall in Soweto on Sunday afternoon by police trainees on patrol. Makhubele said the men were caught trying to steal a car in the parking area.
On Saturday, a 66-year-old woman and her husband were hijacked and robbed in the Monte-casino parking area in Fourways.
They parked their car and the woman went to open the boot to fetch her handbag when three armed men appeared.
Makhubele said the robbers pointed a gun at her and stole her wedding ring. “When her husband saw what was happening, he confronted the men, but they held him up and robbed him of his watch.
“The thugs then quickly got into the victim’s vehicle and sped towards the boom.
“At the gate, another car was waiting for the security guard to open the boom. One of the robbers got out of the stolen vehicle and held the driver of the Mercedes-Benz Vito at gunpoint.
“The driver and the occupants jumped out of the vehicle and took cover,” said Makhubele.
“When the guards saw what was happening, they confronted the suspects. When the hijackers realised they were cornered, they turned their firearms on the guards,” Makhubele said.
A shootout erupted and one hijacker was shot in the upper body. He was certified dead at the scene by paramedics.
The other two gangsters fled on foot and were at large. “We are hoping the public will help us with information on their whereabouts,” Makhubele said.
He added that the hijacked vehicle was recovered at the scene along with a cellphone, wedding ring and an unlicensed firearm with 11 bullets.
Last week, Gauteng police launched their festive season campaign to combat criminals targeting malls.
Makhubele said on Sunday it was the high police presence in and around malls that led to their quick reaction time and the arrests.
“We are appealing to the community to assist police with information regarding these criminals,” he added. - Additional reporting by Sakhile Ndlazi