Gotcha! Passers-by nab robbery suspects

A group of good Samaritans fearlessly chased down a gun-wielding man and his alleged accomplice after a Nelson Mandela University student was robbed of her cellphone on Monday.

The chase by passing motorists and pedestrians resulted in two suspected robbers, one of whom allegedly tried to fire at  them during the pursuit, being caught in Admiralty Way at about 11am.

Several people who saw the robbery chased after the suspects, who tried to outrun about eight vehicles that mounted the pavement as they raced after the men.

Relay Emergency Medical Services medic Solly Luyt was driving down the road in his bakkie when he heard panicked screams.

“I turned and saw the student screaming on the side of the road.

“She was pointing at the two men who were running on the grass trying to escape.

“I mounted the pavement with my bakkie and gave chase.

“Probably about eight vehicles joined in.

“They [the alleged robbers] were trying to zigzag across the verge in an attempt to escape.

“A whole fleet of cars was chasing them,” he said.

“Everyone just joined in on the chase.

“It was a remarkable thing to see.”

An off-duty member of the metro search-and-rescue unit, who declined to named, said as the motorists caught up to the suspects one driver bumped one of the men with the vehicle.

“He [suspect] got up and carried on running.

“As I stopped the bakkie, I jumped out and gave chase.

“The next thing, one of the guys turned around with a firearm and tried to shoot.

“As he pointed the firearm at me, I took a step back.

“I saw that the slide of the gun was back and that it must have jammed or misfired.

“Then he carried on running away and I continued the chase,” the man said.

“Another bakkie then blocked him and he changed direction. I managed to tackle him to the ground and wrestled the firearm from him.

"[Another] guy [unidentified resident] then jumped on him to assist with disarming him.”

The second suspect, meanwhile, was still on the loose.

Taxi driver Marks Ngulo, 33, who witnessed the robbery and  was also involved in the men’s arrest, said: “I saw one [suspect] trying to shoot but, luckily, it looks like his gun jammed.

“As I saw them catch the one, I carried on chasing the other.

“As I got close to him with my taxi, I managed to swerve in front of him.

“As he ran into the taxi, I jumped out and tackled him.

“He tried to fight but then a whole group of us managed to arrest him.”

Amid all the drama, more passers-by stopped to assist.

“There were people everywhere just stopping to help,” Ngulo said.

Ngulo had been sitting at the shuttle pickup point on Admiralty Way when he saw the robbery go down.

“I saw the whole thing and could not believe that these tsotsis would try this on such a busy road,” he said.

Amid all the commotion, an officer from the K9 unit also stopped to assist.

Fourth-year NMU human resources student Blessing Muzeza, 24, said the men had pounced on her while she was waiting at the shuttle stop.

“I was waiting for a shuttle to go to the south campus when I saw the two men approaching.

“As they neared the shuttle, I got a bit suspicious so I started to walk.

“One then lifted his shirt and showed me the gun stuck in his pants,” she said.

“I knew they wanted the phone so I just threw it on the grass and ran.

“As I was running, I started screaming for help.

“That is when everyone just started chasing them.”

A visibly rattled Muzeza said she was extremely grateful for the help.

“It was so scary but I knew if I threw the phone down they would go for it and I could run away,” she said.

Police spokesperson Captain Sandra Janse van Rensburg said the two men were arrested for robbery and illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition.

She said the firearm, which was loaded with two rounds of 9mm ammunition, had been confiscated and sent for forensic testing to determine where it had been stolen and if it had possibly been used in other crimes.

Mount Road Cluster commander Major-General Thembisile Patekile commended the members of the public for assisting the student.

“Criminals are always on the prowl and students are urged not to expose their cellphones in public as they are often targeted by opportunistic thieves,” he said.

The men, aged 22 and 21, from Kwazakhele and New Brighton, are due to appear in the Port Elizabeth Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.