Businessman killed in robbery

THE owner of HAMS Security, Andries (‘Dries’) de Jager, was shot dead during an attempted robbery in Windhoek’s Northern Industrial Area yesterday.

According to the Police, the incident took place at around 12h40.They said De Jager was walking to his shop with one of his security guards when two suspects approached them.An eyewitness told The Namibian that De Jager had just come from the bank after withdrawing money to pay wages.One of the men allegedly grabbed the security guard, and the other shot De Jager in the back. The guard gave chase, shooting one of the suspects in the thigh. The second suspect sped away in a waiting blue BMW driven by a third suspect.According to the eyewitness, the injured suspect, left behind by his accomplices, had the money on him. This was recovered, and the suspect arrested. He is in hospital under Police guard.By late yesterday afternoon, the second suspect was still at large, the Police said. They did not mention the driver of the getaway car.De Jager died on arrival at the hospital.At the time of going to press, staff at HAMS Security were still talking to the Police and said they were unable to comment.The shocked eyewitness said Iscor Street, where the crime took place, is a busy street with several businesses, and that De Jager had a number of people around him.nangula@namibian.com.na