ELUKWATINI – A Zimbabwean national was fatally shot while two others were injured during a shoot out with the police and security personnel following a robbery at the Total Garage in the early hours of this morning.
It is reported that the local police jointly responded to a business robbery complaint with Ayanda N VIP Protection Services at the Total filling station an hour after midnight.
However, on their arrival the suspects had already fled the scene with an undisclosed amount of money, cigarettes and betting vouchers.
Spokesperson for the Elukwatini Police Station, Sergeant Wiseman Nkosi revealed that the police received information that the alleged suspects were hiding at a rented room near the Tribal Authority at Nhlazatshe Section 6.
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According to Nkosi, when the police arrived at the hideout room, they identified themselves and requested the occupants to open the door but shots were fired at them instead.
“Police identified themselves and demanded that they be let in, but instead, the people inside the house fired shots at that police and the police retaliated,” said Nkosi.
All three occupants of the house were shot but only two survived and are currently in hospital under police guard.
“No police or security personnel was injured. All three males are Zimbabwean nationals between the ages of 33 and 39 years old,” said Nkosi.
In December 2021 the former Station Commander of the Elukwatini Police Station Colonel Beauty Marivate, was fatally shot by suspects as she responded to a business robbery in the area.
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The Acting Provincial Police Commissioner Major General Zeph Mkhwanazi has commended the speedy reaction of the law enforcement agencies and the arrest of the suspects.
