Man shot in back in mall

27 November 2012 - 02:08 By GRAEME HOSKEN
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Menlyn Park mall, in Pretoria. File photo
Menlyn Park mall, in Pretoria. File photo

An Algerian businessman was critically injured when a man believed to be a former business partner allegedly shot him in the back in a crowded Pretoria shopping centre.

The businessman, whom police declined to name, was collecting documents from a translator yesterday when the gunman walked up behind him while he was sitting at a restaurant in Menlyn Park Shopping Centre.

The gunman, who is also Algerian, shot the victim four times before walking off, police said.

Police spokesman Warrant Officer Annabel Middleton said security guards arrested the 44-year-old suspect, who has South African citizenship, as he walked out of the mall.

The guards recovered an unlicensed .38 Special revolver.

"The shooting appears to have occurred because of a business deal that went sour. The gunman shot the businessman four times in the back," said Middleton.

"Fortunately, the woman whom the businessman was meeting was not injured."

The businessman was in a critical condition at Steve Biko Academic Hospital, Middleton said.

The alleged gunman would appear in court soon on charges of attempted murder and possession of an unlicensed firearm, she said.

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