Mvuyo Mati

Mvuyo Mati

Two armed robbers apparently shot themselves in the head as police closed in on them in Tsolo in the Eastern Cape at the weekend.

Captain Sherine Reddy said the men had robbed a spaza shop in the Magutyana administrative area on Saturday afternoon.

The spaza shop owner called the police after he was robbed of R240 and two Nokia cellphones.

When the police arrived at the scene the two robbers had fled on foot.

They were cornered not far from the spaza shop.

The officers ordered the duo to stop, but they allegedly continued to flee and the officers then fired warning shots.

It was after the warning shots that the men pointed their firearms at each other's heads and pulled their triggers.

One robber was shot in the forehead and the other on the right side of his head.

Reddy said that the police had recovered two unlicensed pistols, the stolen cash and two cellular phones from the bodies of the dead robbers.

She said the dead men's names were being withheld until their next of kin were notified.

Reddy said a full investigation would be made into the specifics of the shooting.