Brave cop thwarts daylight robbery

A brazen daylight jewellery heist at the Westville Mall in Durban on Wednesday was thwarted by an off-duty cop who witnessed the robbery playing out before him.

It is understood that the officer had been at a nearby coffee shop when three men stormed jewellery store Hardwick and Mazzoni. The officer had single-handedly engaged the gunmen as they made their escape‚ resulting in a dramatic shootout in the busy strip mall.

One of the gunmen‚ thought to be wounded‚ left a trail of blood in his wake as he and his accomplices fled toward the freeway.

Police spokesperson Captain Nqobile Gwala said that officers apprehended two men on the M13 as they were trying to escape.

“The members are still busy at the scene. A case of business robbery has been opened for investigation‚” she said on Wednesday afternoon.

RescueCare paramedics spokesman Gareth Jamieson said no bystanders were injured in the shooting.