adminSenior Reporter
A MAN hid inside a refrigerator at TM Supermarket’s Bradfield branch in Bulawayo while the staff knocked off and went on to ransack the shop at night. The man was later shot in the leg in the early hours of Monday as he tried to escape from the shop, police confirmed.Inspector Mandlenkosi Moyo of Bulawayo Police would not name the suspect, but confirmed that a man had been arrested after “being caught trying to rob a shop at Bradfield Shopping Centre”.
He would not release further information for fear of “jeopardising investigations that are underway”.
Sources close to the investigation said the man went into the supermarket just like any shopper and waited for staff to close shop and go home on Sunday night.
“Soon after midnight, he cut through a safe that had no money in it.
“Security guards heard noise and thought someone was trying to break into the shop. They ran around the shop trying to locate where the noise was coming from but they could not find anything,” said the source.
The man started cutting through a second safe with a hacksaw, making more noise.
“The security guards, who were stationed outside the shop, ran around once more and failed to locate the source of the noise.
“The thief was unlucky again as there was no money in the safe,” our source said.
“He then took a big suitcase that he had brought with him and started looting groceries in the shop, putting them into the bag. That’s when the security guards saw him.”
Another source said the guards called the police and their security company.
Our source added: “Armed officers arrived and cordoned off the area. They saw the suspect dashing for cover in the shop. But, when they went inside, they could not find him.
They searched for a number of hours. “The suspect had made a hole in the ceiling and hid there. When he was seen, he tried to flee. He was shot in the leg and has been admitted to UBH (United Bulawayo Hospitals).”
TM Bradfield branch manager, Mr Benson Khumalo, declined to comment as he was not cleared to speak to the media.
Online Reporter