Robbers bomb two ATMs
Source: kormorant
ATM bombers made off with a large, but undisclosed, amount of money following an armed robbery and the bombing of two Automatic Teller Machines at the Mountain Lake Shopping Centre in Broederstroom in the early hours of yesterday morning.
ATM bombers made off with a large, but undisclosed, amount of money following an armed robbery and the bombing of two Automatic Teller Machines at the Mountain Lake Shopping Centre in Broederstroom in the early hours of yesterday morning.
The gang of bombers first held up staff members at the filling station and blew up the ATM there just after 01:00 before they moved on to the ATM located in the centre and bombed it.
Faruk Omar (22), the supervisor on duty at the Pecanwood Total Filling Station at the time of the bombing, told Kormorant that he and the cashier were inside the 24 hour shop while three petrol attendants were in the petrol attendants’ room. He explained that he was packing shelves when a man with an R5 rifle approached him, pointed the R5 at him and told him to lie on the ground. “When I did not lie on the ground one of the men hit me and I lay down. They then told me to give them everything. I said that I only had my cellular phone and gave it to them,” Omar said.
According to him other men from the armed group were holding up the petrol attendants in the attendants room at the same time.
Omar explained that the robbers inside the shop then demanded the keys to the drop safe and he tried to explain that the drop safe key is kept at the bank. The robbers then moved to the office where they broke down the door. “The alarm in the office went off and one of them asked why I had pressed the panic button. I explained that I didn’t and that the alarm automatically went off when entering the office. One of them threatened to shoot me and I explained it again after which he kicked me,” Omar said.
He told Kormorant that the robbers managed to take R10 530 in cash from the office and that the blast of the ATM inside followed shortly afterwards. According to Omar he did not see them set the charge but that the sound of the explosion was very loud, ‘like in the movies’.
Omar said that the robbers then left the garage and moved to the ATM at the centre. “I heard the blast and then waited a while before calling my brother and he called the police,” Omar said. No-one at the filling station was injured.
According to Omar the ATM in the shop was restocked with money on Tuesday during the day and that the only money police found on the scene were three R50 notes. There is no certainty about the value of the damage caused by the blast inside the shop.
The amounts of money taken from both the ATMs have not been disclosed.
Capt. Aafje Botma, North West SAP spokesperson, said that the police are investigating charges under the Explosives Act as well as armed robbery.
Faruk Omar (22), the supervisor on duty at the Pecanwood Total Filling Station at the time of the bombing, told Kormorant that he and the cashier were inside the 24 hour shop while three petrol attendants were in the petrol attendants’ room. He explained that he was packing shelves when a man with an R5 rifle approached him, pointed the R5 at him and told him to lie on the ground. “When I did not lie on the ground one of the men hit me and I lay down. They then told me to give them everything. I said that I only had my cellular phone and gave it to them,” Omar said.
According to him other men from the armed group were holding up the petrol attendants in the attendants room at the same time.
Omar explained that the robbers inside the shop then demanded the keys to the drop safe and he tried to explain that the drop safe key is kept at the bank. The robbers then moved to the office where they broke down the door. “The alarm in the office went off and one of them asked why I had pressed the panic button. I explained that I didn’t and that the alarm automatically went off when entering the office. One of them threatened to shoot me and I explained it again after which he kicked me,” Omar said.
He told Kormorant that the robbers managed to take R10 530 in cash from the office and that the blast of the ATM inside followed shortly afterwards. According to Omar he did not see them set the charge but that the sound of the explosion was very loud, ‘like in the movies’.
Omar said that the robbers then left the garage and moved to the ATM at the centre. “I heard the blast and then waited a while before calling my brother and he called the police,” Omar said. No-one at the filling station was injured.
According to Omar the ATM in the shop was restocked with money on Tuesday during the day and that the only money police found on the scene were three R50 notes. There is no certainty about the value of the damage caused by the blast inside the shop.
The amounts of money taken from both the ATMs have not been disclosed.
Capt. Aafje Botma, North West SAP spokesperson, said that the police are investigating charges under the Explosives Act as well as armed robbery.
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