Bulawayo is dealing with a seriously rough crime wave. Police spokesperson Inspector Nomalanga Msebele confirmed five separate armed robberies just days apart. Four of those hits went down in one wild hour across the Luveve and Old Luveve suburbs, all going after private homes. Another earlier robbery targeted security guards at the Hillside Shopping Centre. The crews involved used pistols, machetes, and iron bars.
The first report came from that shopping center. Two guards, one thirty-seven and the other sixty, were doing a cash transit when four masked dudes rolled up on them. One suspect had a pistol and a literal log. Shots got exchanged before the robbers dipped in their car. Nobody got hurt. Then things really escalated on a single night. Around two in the morning, three guys with a machete, iron rods, and maybe a gun broke into an Old Luveve house. A forty-two-year-old man was there with his wife and kid. The thieves took twenty-four bucks and two phones. Just minutes later, another home in Old Luveve got hit. A forty-seven-year-old man had his door forced open, got a death threat, and lost over four hundred US dollars and some South African rand. A third attack followed shortly after, where a twenty-one-year-old had two hundred of his mom's cash taken. The final hit that hour was in Luveve Five. A fifty-year-old man got a gun pointed at him and lost a huge stack of cash, over ten thousand dollars, from his wallet, jacket, and wardrobe.
Msebele said the tight timing and violent methods are a major concern, pointing to a coordinated spree. No arrests have been made yet. Police are telling people to lock up tight, use strong bars on windows and doors, and report any useful info.
The first report came from that shopping center. Two guards, one thirty-seven and the other sixty, were doing a cash transit when four masked dudes rolled up on them. One suspect had a pistol and a literal log. Shots got exchanged before the robbers dipped in their car. Nobody got hurt. Then things really escalated on a single night. Around two in the morning, three guys with a machete, iron rods, and maybe a gun broke into an Old Luveve house. A forty-two-year-old man was there with his wife and kid. The thieves took twenty-four bucks and two phones. Just minutes later, another home in Old Luveve got hit. A forty-seven-year-old man had his door forced open, got a death threat, and lost over four hundred US dollars and some South African rand. A third attack followed shortly after, where a twenty-one-year-old had two hundred of his mom's cash taken. The final hit that hour was in Luveve Five. A fifty-year-old man got a gun pointed at him and lost a huge stack of cash, over ten thousand dollars, from his wallet, jacket, and wardrobe.
Msebele said the tight timing and violent methods are a major concern, pointing to a coordinated spree. No arrests have been made yet. Police are telling people to lock up tight, use strong bars on windows and doors, and report any useful info.
