RESIDENTS ducked for cover as police exchanged gunshots with a group of at least six armed men who attempted a cash heist at the SaveMor store in Kwambonambi last night.
The gang invaded the store just before 6.30pm as staff were closing for the day.
The first shotgun volley broke the silence of the small town and also alerted members at the police station barely 300 metres from the scene.
They arrived within two minutes and a 30-minute gun battle ensued as the suspects attempted to flee with cash bags and boxes of cigarettes after roughing up staff inside the store.
Police bravely faced the gun-toting gang head-on, shooting out the tyres of their escape vehicle and causing the suspects to flee without the cash or goods.
While the bullets were flying – more than a hundred rounds according to witnesses – so too were SMS’s as residents barricaded themselves indoors and waited for the ‘all clear’.
The suspects escaped on foot with the police in hot pursuit but no arrests were reported.
Amazingly, there were also no gunshot victims reported despite the fierce gun battle.
* For more on the shootout and an eyewitness account of the chaos read the ZO Weekend edition tomorrow
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