A 24-YEAR-OLD man went on a random shooting spree in the Johannesburg city centre yesterday.

Police said the man started shooting at people at about 8am.

Police were alerted to the shooting and went to the scene. When the man saw the police he threw the gun away and tried to run away.

Police spokesperson Inspector Xoli Mbele said: "Though the guy was shooting randomly no one was injured. When we checked the gun it was unlicensed."

The man was arrested for possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.

l On Tuesday police arrested a 27-year-old man who attempted to rob a cash van in Tsakane, Ekurhuleni.

Captain Petros Mabuza described the incident as "surprising".

"The man pointed a gun at the driver of a van collecting money at a Shoprite supermarket and demanded cash at about 7.45am.

"Four other guards had already gone into the supermarket to get the money," he said.

Mabuza said the driver of the van, with the help of mall security guards, chased the gun-wielding man.

"He was arrested near a taxi rank but the gun was not found. It's surprising that the man attempted to commit the crime alone. It's the first time we have seen something like that," he said.

The man has been charged with an attempted cash-in-transit heist.

l Meanwhile, the security guard who shot and killed an armed robber in Johannesburg on Tuesday is fighting for his life in hospital.

The guard, in his 30s, was shot twice in the upper body by one of the five men who tried to rob a shop in Newtown at about 9.30am.

Mbele said police had tracked down the owner of the licensed gun that was recovered on the scene.

"The owner lives in Vosloorus," Mbele said.