A WOUNDED security guard shot dead a gunman during an attempted business robbery in Johannesburg yesterday.

A WOUNDED security guard shot dead a gunman during an attempted business robbery in Johannesburg yesterday.

The guard, who sustained two gunshot wounds, fired several shots at his attacker - killing him on the scene.

One of the workers at Magogo's Arcade Wholesalers, Safeeya Mohamed, 42, was still shaken after the robbers hit the shop in Newtown.

Police officers acted swiftly when they heard gunshots and arrested four men in the shop.

Shop owner Ashraf Wadee said the men came to the shop on Monday.

"There were eight of them. They walked in and my mother suspected something and told employees to leave the shop. They (the robbers) looked around and then left without saying a word."

Mohamed said: "I was drinking tea when the men came in. Wadee saw that it was the same men who came to the shop yesterday.

"She told me and the other employees to get out of the shop but one of them put a gun against my stomach and told me to lie down."

Johannesburg Central police spokesperson Inspector Xoli Mbele said: "The men entered the shop and ordered the staff to lie down.

"The security guard was outside the shop and noticed what was happening.

"He drew his gun and fired shots at one of the robbers who was shooting at him. The guard, in his 30s, was taken to hospital in a stable condition."

Mbele said they took possession of a licensed firearm and were still tracing its owner.

He said the four men would appear in court soon.