Gunmen raided a Choppies store in Bulawayo's New Luveve area Saturday night. They fired shots and hurt workers before taking $1,000.
The attack started at 8 p.m., right after closing time. The robbers shot at a guard but missed. They stabbed another guard four times and hit the store manager in the head.
Street sellers near the shop first thought the gunshots were fireworks. "We heard shots and thought they were firecrackers," said one seller who stayed unnamed. "We ran when we knew they were real guns."
The area was dark from a power cut when the crime happened. The robbers fired three times. One shot missed a guard doing his nightly checks. The thieves then forced a cashier to find the manager.
"They put a gun to the manager's head and made him open the shop," said a worker there. The manager got hurt badly. One guard had three stab wounds in his leg and one in his arm.
Police leader Paul Nyathi said they are looking into the crime. "The robbers made the manager open the door. They took phones and money," he said. He asked stores to make their closing time safer.
This brings back memories of a 2021 theft. Robbers took $11,000 from a money truck at another Choppies store then.
The police caught eight robbers last month. These men had stolen $10,000 worth of items in ten different attacks. They face charges of theft and having guns they should not own.
Elvis Charakupa, Khulumani Moyo, Mavrick Dube, and five others must now see a judge. The court will decide what happens next in this string of store attacks.
The attack started at 8 p.m., right after closing time. The robbers shot at a guard but missed. They stabbed another guard four times and hit the store manager in the head.
Street sellers near the shop first thought the gunshots were fireworks. "We heard shots and thought they were firecrackers," said one seller who stayed unnamed. "We ran when we knew they were real guns."
The area was dark from a power cut when the crime happened. The robbers fired three times. One shot missed a guard doing his nightly checks. The thieves then forced a cashier to find the manager.
"They put a gun to the manager's head and made him open the shop," said a worker there. The manager got hurt badly. One guard had three stab wounds in his leg and one in his arm.
Police leader Paul Nyathi said they are looking into the crime. "The robbers made the manager open the door. They took phones and money," he said. He asked stores to make their closing time safer.
This brings back memories of a 2021 theft. Robbers took $11,000 from a money truck at another Choppies store then.
The police caught eight robbers last month. These men had stolen $10,000 worth of items in ten different attacks. They face charges of theft and having guns they should not own.
Elvis Charakupa, Khulumani Moyo, Mavrick Dube, and five others must now see a judge. The court will decide what happens next in this string of store attacks.
