Suspected Armed Robbers Shot Dead
Sharon Mathala | Monday February 8, 2016 16:05
Two of the suspected robbers were confirmed dead at the hospital and there were no casualties among the officers or bystanders.
Botswana Police (BPS) Public Relations Unit’s Senior Superintendent Near Bagali, confirmed the incident in a press statement further saying two other injured suspected armed robbers were in hospital for medical attention.
Bagali further said that investigations into the matter are ongoing. When called to elaborate, Bagali assured The Monitor that the police tried all they could not to have fatalities in the incident.
“Those people were armed. The officers tried all they could to the best of their ability. However, investigation are ongoing.”
The Monitor can confirm that the deceased are both Batswana nationals aged 28 years.
The police however could not reveal the names of the deceased until their next of kin are informed.
When The Monitor crew visited the scene of the shoot-out the following day, plain-clothed officers in white gloves could be seen still milling about the area filming the place and its surroundings. Patches of blood were still visible on the floor.
The police were busy taking fingerprints and interviewing some of the workers.
Those present during the shootout could be seen tellking their friends and anyone willing to listen how the action rolled out.
Intoned a still flustered eyewitness who said he saw everything:
“It was like a movie, I was busy with what I was doing that day when I heard loud noises. I ran away.”
“I was busy at work, when the the first shot went off. I did not see their faces clearly, but I did realise that some of them (both police and suspected robbers) had spent a long time by the bus stop there (pointing directly opposite the scene).”
The man repeatedly begged to remain anonymous as he said they had been briefed by the police not to talk to anyone about what they saw except the police.
He continued nevertheless: “At first I heard about three shots,. That’s when I quickly laid on the floor for cover. I did not know what was going on. It happened so fast.”
The eyewitness further told this reporter that after a momentary lull following the shootout, he heard three uninformed officers calling for assistance and an ambulance.
He said that two of the suspected robbers were confirmed dead at the scene whilst two others were carried away in an ambulance. mes New Roman','serif';mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US; mso-bidi-language:AR-SA'>Matsetsenkane have been reacting positively to rehabilitation since they came back from Okavango where the government and BIRRO had taken them for rehabilitation after years of reigning terror for the villagers of Thamaga.