A Zimbabwean national who was living in South Africa as an illegal immigrant was shot by the police at the Tshilamba Shopping Centre on Sunday morning. He later died because of the injuries sustained.
The owner of the shop allegedly noticed movement inside the building when he arrived to open the store early in the morning. He immediately called the police.
When the police arrived, the suspect escaped through a hole in the roof and started running away. According to an eyewitness who was on the scene, the suspect had gained entrance into the business by cutting a hole through the corrugated iron. "He used the same hole to escape, but together with the police, we chased him," he said.
The suspect allegedly picked up an iron rod and tried to attack the police. The police fired a shot in the air and warned him to stop, but he continued charging at them. "That was when he was shot," the eyewitness said.
According to the police statement, the man was trying to attack them with an iron rod, "and that is when members of the SAPS shot and injured him and he was taken to the local hospital under police guard".
The suspect was identified as the 35-year-old Mambowa Munyaradzi, who came from Zimbabwe. On Monday afternoon, the Ethiopian shop owner, Mr Gizamo Fitamo Hadero, was still shivering when talking about the incident. "When I opened the shop, I saw him charging at me slowly. He is well built, and I closed the door immediately and called the police," he said. He added that the thief had stolen R3 700 from the safe.
Hadero refused to be photographed, saying the suspect's friends might target him.
The police confirmed that the suspect had died in hospital on Tuesday morning.