PE guard shot during attempted robbery
Two firearms found on the scene
A security guard was shot and wounded during a fight with two suspected robbers in Missionvale at noon on Tuesday.
The robbery saw two men, believed to be armed with a handgun, confronted by a security guard outside a spaza shop in Corsa Road, Missionvale.
Police believe that the intended target was the 55-year-old security guard and not the store.
Police spokeswoman Colonel Priscilla Naidu said that the men confronted the guard outside, knowing that he carried a firearm.
“It appears that they knew the guard was armed and confronted him outside the shop. While demanding the firearm, a scuffle ensued and one of the firearms went off shooting the guard in the stomach,” she said.
“It remains unclear whose firearm went off in the scuffle.
"After the shot went off, the two suspects fled on foot and jumped into a minibus taxi that was nearby.”
Naidu said that the suspects failed to get the security guard’s firearm.
“However, when police arrived on the scene, another firearm was found inside the spaza shop. At this stage it is unknown where the second firearm came from. It was reported stolen in 2007 in Despatch,” she said.
“The weapon has been sent to the forensic laboratory to see if the person who was holding the firearm can be identified.”
An inquiry is being investigated to determine where the second firearm came from.
This comes only a week after a Magnum Alarms security response officer was shot and wounded after responding to a burglar alarm at a New Brighton school.
The suspects demanded the official’s gun, but he was unarmed and they then fired several shots at him.
Last month, a Fidelity ADT armed response officer was robbed by two men asking for directions during a daring daylight robbery and shooting at the intersection of John Tallant and Grahamstown Road intersection in Deal Party.
According to police, one of the two suspects initially posed as a lost driver in need of directions when they stopped alongside the marked security vehicle.
In May, an Atlas Security official was ambushed while responding to an armed robbery at the Hotspot Sports Bar in Graaff-Reinet Road, Uitenhage.
The response officer was held at gunpoint within minutes of arriving and his firearm stolen.
Naidu said that several cases were being investigated linked to the theft or robbery of both business and personal firearms.