An alleged would-be robber was shot by Hillbrow police after he pointed a toy gun at them.
According to police, the incident took place when the police were on their routine patrol at the busy intersection of Joe Slovo Drive and Abel Road in Hillbrow. Police spokesperson Sergeant Mduduzi Zondo said a motorist approached the police and reported an armed man who tried to rob and hijack him, and they went to investigate. According to Zondo, the suspect in question is known to ‘stake out’ cars as potential robbery and hijacking targets. Police followed him, and according to Zondo, the suspect changed his T-shirt and tried to run into a nearby park, where police cornered him.
He added that when the police cornered him, he took out what appeared to be a gun and pointed it at the police.
Zondo said, “At first police fired a warning shot but the man continued to point the object at the police, and eventually police shot the man in his leg.” Police subsequently discovered that the gun was not real, as it was a toy.
Zondo also had a warning for the public, saying that if someone is threatened with an object, it’s regarded as a dangerous weapon – even if it’s a toy.
The 22-year-old suspect was arrested. He is expected to appear in the Hillbrow Magistrate’s Court once he has recovered from his gun shot wound.
