Shopkeeper killed for refusing to sell cigarettes

A suspect is in police custody for allegedly fatally stabbing a shopkeeper to death for refusing to sell cigarettes at a superette in the Western Cape during the nationwide lockdown.

Police spokesperson Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo reportedly confirmed that the shopkeeper died on the way to the hospital, while a colleague who was also stabbed during the attack on Wednesday, survived with a stab wound to the neck.

It is understood that the attack happened after the Kalbaskraal superette closed its doors on Wednesday around 7.30pm. While in a back room, the shopkeepers answered a knock. A visitor asked the shopkeepers if they could buy cigarettes.

“They said no and an argument ensued. The suspect then stabbed the two shopkeepers with a knife. Both were stabbed once in the neck. The two victims went out the front door of the shop to look for help and members of the public phoned for an ambulance and police.”

Naidoo said the Malmesbury police traced the suspect to the Cape Town suburb of Belhar at 4am on Thursday.

The suspect faces a charge of murder and attempted murder.

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