EL wheelchair user fights back

HE MIGHT be in a wheelchair but this East London man knows how to wield a gun.

Three men who tried to rob the wheelchair-bound man discovered this the hard way yesterday when the man wounded one of the robbers during the daylight robbery attempt.

In the bizarre attempt to rob the wheelchair-bound man, three assailants approached him after he had withdrawn money from an ATM at Vincent Park Mall yesterday – but things escalated and resulted in one of the robbers being shot in the leg.

The man, whose identity could not be established, pulled out his gun at the unsuspecting attackers, who probably thought he was an easy target, and fired it at one robber while the other two escaped empty-handed.

Covered in blood, the wounded man was cornered by civilians until the emergency services and police arrived.

The 44-year-old robber had a flesh wound in his leg and was taken away in an ambulance for medical assistance.

Property manager Eugene McNamara said the incident, which happened at about 2.30pm yesterday, had caused much commotion.

“It all happened in the street in front of the shopping complex and some of the civilians made sure the robber stayed put until the police arrived.

“The man in the wheelchair withdrew money and the three assailants approached him not knowing he was armed,” Mc- Namara said.

Police spokesman Captain Nkosikho Mzuku confirmed the incident at the shopping complex.

“It was alleged that a wheelchair-bound man shot another man who was apparently trying to rob him of his money at an ATM.

“Police are investigating a case of robbery and the suspect is due to appear in the East London Magistrate’s Court soon,” Mzuku said. — oreillya@timesmedia.