An armed robber was shot dead and a security guard wounded during a gun battle between nine gunmen and security personnel guarding a pay-out point on Tuesday.

The unidentified gunman died of several gunshot wounds near the civic centre at Brown’s Farm in Philippi.

After passing through the civic centre’s gates, where All-Pay staff were paying out pensions and grants, the men pulled out guns and moved to a door where the cash was being kept.

One of the guards signalled to his colleagues that the men were armed, but as the intruders neared the door, one of them opened fire, wounding a guard in his right hand.

One of the attackers robbed the wounded guard of his firearm, but was forced to retreat as other guards opened fire.

As the robbers retreated and returned fire, the queue of elderly people and children in front of the civic centre ran for cover.

The police combed the area and recovered the guard’s firearm, which had been dropped by one of the gunmen.

The wounded guard was taken to a city hospital, treated and discharged on Tuesday.

The pay-out point, which had been robbed several times before, was re-opened to beneficiaries after the shoot-out.

People with information about the remaining suspects’ whereabouts may call the investigating officer, Detective Inspector Andre Stoffels, of the Serious Violent Crimes unit at 021 935 9600.

This article was originally published on page 1 of Cape Argus on August 11, 2004

Source: Independent Online (IOL)
URL: http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click…/p>