THE armed thugs wanted to rob the Pakistani shop owner, but he wrestled with one of them and took his firearm.
When the gun went off, it was the would-be thug who dropped to the floor, while his friends fled from the shop.
But residents of Marite, near Bushbuckridge in Mpumalanga, did not believe the Pakistani shop owner’s version of the events.
They claim the man who was killed on Saturday was not part of a gang.
So later that day, the angry residents torched the shop, while a number of other foreign-owned shops were vandalised and looted.
Police cars were damaged when the cops found themselves outnumbered by residents during the sudden outbreak of chaos.
- Earlier this month, Mpumalanga Public Works MEC Sasekani Manzini, Bushbuckridge mayor Sylvia Nxumalo and Acornheok commander Major-General Dina Mashele held a prayer meeting in the area.
They were praying for peace in the community, which has been plagued by an endless number of service delivery protests.
Police spokesman Captain Phillip Fakude said residents went on the rampage after they heard a 23-year-old man had been shot to death.
Fakude added that cops are keeping a close eye on the area.
He said: “We are warning the community to stop attacking shop owners because police will be on the ground to arrest those who cause violence.”
