Gun-toting taxi passenger kills robber
One half of a pair of alleged armed criminals was killed and the other wounded when they attempted to rob a Port Elizabeth taxi.
File image.
Two alleged robbers met their match in Port Elizabeth on Thursday evening after their attempts to carry out an armed robbery on a taxi was foiled by one of its passengers.
One of the pair was killed and the other wounded by the passenger, who has not yet been named for legal reasons.
Police spokesperson Captain Andre Beetge told HeraldLive that a taxi was parked in Mavuso Road, New Brighton at around 8pm when two armed men attempted to rob the driver and his passengers.
One man demanded money from his victims at gunpoint, at which point a 42-year-old man then drew his firearm, shooting and killing the suspect.
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After the suspect fell, his accomplice stepped in and picked up his partner’s firearm, at which point the gun-owner fired shot him in the leg.
The deceased suspect has been named as 32-year-old Siyabonga Sibhembe. He reportedly had cases pending related to drugs and firearms.
His 28-year-old accomplice, who was wounded, can not yet be named.
According to Beetge, command centre officials in Motherwell heard the shots and arrived on scene shortly afterwards.
“The wounded suspect was arrested while trying to flee. The firearm was found in his possession,” Beetge said.
The alleged criminal is currently under police guard at Livingstone Hospital.
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