The police stated that the incident began in Twist Street, where the 19-year-old suspect and an accomplice followed a cigarette courier entering a shop.
Hillbrow police spokesperson Sergeant Mduduzi Zondo said the two men, one armed with a gun and the other with a knife, stormed into the shop. The one with the gun pointed it at the courier and demanded cash. Zondo said the man with the knife searched the driver who didn’t have any money with him. They took his invoice machine.
He said, “The other man then pointed the gun at the shop owner and demanded cash. The suspects took an undisclosed amount of cash [from the store], car keys and the invoice machine from the driver and fled the scene on foot.”
Zondo said the suspects ran in different directions, terrifying people as the one with the gun was running with the gun in open view.
He said, “[The suspect] ran into a nearby church and pointed the gun at worshipers but didn’t shoot. He later ran out of the church on to Nugget Street where he met his match.”
Zondo said the suspect ran into police who were on a routine patrol in the area.
They managed to corner him and disarmed the suspect. They recovered an unlicensed 9mm Nonrico pistol with the serial number filed off, and three live rounds of ammunition.
The suspect, who lives in a hostel in Soweto, was detained at Hillbrow Police Station.
He is expected to appear in Johannesburg Magistrates’ Court. Zondo added that the police were following leads in a bid to arrest the second suspect.
