A man was shot and an armed robber is suspected to have drowned in the Umgeni River following a shootout with a Blue Security armed response officer in Springfield Park yesterday afternoon.
Blue Security operations director Brian Jackson said a police search and rescue team had attended the scene to search for a missing suspect who is believed to have drowned while attempting to evade arrest. “Five well-dressed suspects, two of them armed with firearms and one armed with a knife, entered a business premises in Aloefield Crescent in Springfield Park and started demanding cash from customers. A scuffle broke out and a shot went off, injuring an innocent bystander in his leg.”
According to Jackson an armed response officer had responded to an alarm activation at the premises at around 2.40pm. “When he arrived at the scene he noticed five men leaving the premises. He gave chase for about 40 meters in his vehicle until the suspects starting firing shots at him. He got out of his vehicle and returned fire. The suspects split up and fled in different directions and our officer continued to pursue them,” Jackson said.
Jackson said various security companies and the police responded swiftly to the scene of the crime. “The police arrested one of the suspects 2km away, who was found hiding in the reeds along the river near Intersite Avenue. A second suspect is believed to have drowned after he was seen with another suspect attempting to swim across the river to evade arrest. Three of the suspects got away with an undisclosed sum of cash. A firearm was recovered at the scene,” Jackson said.
Jackson said the SAPS search and rescue team were on the scene for several hours yesterday looking for the suspect who is believed to have drowned.
Greenwood Park SAPS attended the scene of the crime. Police are investigating a case of robbery and attempted murder.
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