WATCH | Hands up! Alert cops foil supermarket robbery in Pretoria

Gunmen who threatened staff at a supermarket in Pretoria threw their hands in the air after being caught by surprise in mid-robbery by the police who were waiting at the front door.

Two of the suspects were arrested, one of them wounded, as they tried to exit the store in Marabastad late in the afternoon on Wednesday.

Three men brandishing firearms entered the shop in Boom Street, threatened the owner, assaulted staff and demanded cash and cellphones, according to police spokesperson Capt Augustinah Selepe.

“A Pretoria central patrol vehicle was alerted, and swiftly responded to the scene. When these suspects noticed police, they fired shots. In the process, one suspect was shot and was taken to hospital under police guard where he is in a stable condition,” said Selepe.

The third suspect managed to flee with an undisclosed sum of cash and cellphones.

“During the arrest police confiscated two firearms and ammunition, which will be taken for ballistic assessment to establish if the firearms were used in other serious crimes.

“The two suspects will appear in court for business robbery, assault, possession of unlicensed firearms and possession of ammunition.”

Video footage of the arrests was shared on social media. Some observers questioned why the police were not wearing bulletproof vests.

TimesLIVE