Police are investigating a series of armed robberies. Picture: iStock
Lightning never strikes the same place twice. But it did for a 22-year-old Ethiopian business owner, who was robbed twice in two days.
On Wednesday, the young man recovering from a gunshot injury once again became a victim to a brazen robbery. This robbery happened two days after he was initially targeted.
Despite his ongoing recovery, the Ethiopian found himself at the mercy of three robbers who forcefully entered his shop. The incident occurred on the corner of Fana Khumal Street and Zondi Way in Amountana, KwaZulu-Natal.
The robbers took with them undisclosed amounts of money, two cellphones and an undisclosed quantity of cigarettes. To make matters worse, they fled the scene using his vehicle, a white Nissan NP 200 bakkie.
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The Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA) arrived at the scene to assess the situation. The victim gave his statement, detailing how the three men had entered his shipping container store and forcibly took his belongings.
In response, RUSA officers launched an extensive search operation, successfully recovering the abandoned bakkie in the nearby area. A RUSA spokesperson, however, said no arrests were made for both incidents.
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Furthermore, the victim was unable to identify the second three robbers thereby failing to make a connection between the two robberies.
“The first robbers were not arrested and he could not confirm the second robbers. He mentioned that he could not recognize them. So it is possible that it is not the same person or people,” said the RUSA spokesperson.
This distressing incident marks the second robbery targeting the victim’s store in just two days.
RUSA said, on Monday, the same tuck shop was subjected to a similar act of criminality. The victim suffered a gunshot wound to his leg during the first robbery.
The repeated targeting of the victim’s business raises significant concerns about the effectiveness of existing security measures in the area and the safety of residents and business owners.
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