Riot Hlatshwayo

Riot Hlatshwayo

A man is under police guard in a Mpumalanga hospital after police shot him during an exchange of gunfire on Saturday.

Vosman police were on patrol when they received information about the presence of two suspicious-looking people in the town.

A captain and a constable followed up on the information and found the two men walking along a street at about 10am.

Mpumalanga police spokesman Superintendent Abie Khoabane said: "As soon as our members confronted the suspects, they started shooting at the police and our members returned fire, hitting one of the suspects in the right upper leg."

Police arrested the other man and took the injured suspect to hospital.

Khoabane said police believed that the two men intended robbing businesses in Vosman when they were intercepted.

The men will be charged with the unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition as well as attempted murder.

The uninjured suspect is expected to appear in the local magistrate's court soon, while his accomplice will face the might of the law as soon as he has recovered.

Both men are said to be in their early 20s.