Community fights off gun-toting thieves

FOUR suspected wood thieves discovered the meaning of strength in numbers this weekend, when a rural community sent them packing after a gunfight.

The four, travelling in a red Toyota Corolla with tinted windows, apparently drove into the grounds of the farm Nubuamis outside Windhoek on Saturday night. Suspicious community members immediately started to monitor their movements.At around 20h00, two of the men apparently got out of the car and walked over to a wood seller.After initially pretending to be interested in buying wood, the two reportedly pulled a gun on the merchant and tried to rob him.”His wife rescued him by grabbing the suspects’ firearm and shot between them,” Police spokesperson Sergeant Stephan Nuuyi reported yesterday.At this point, several residents became aware of the incident, and rushed to the scene.A gunfight ensued between community members and the suspects, after the two men who had remained in the car started firing at the rescuers.All four suspects managed to get back into the car and fled into the night.After the smoke cleared, the would-be robbers had left behind only a 9 mm pistol with a few bloodstains on it.Despite possible injuries sustained during the gunfight, all four suspects remain at large.Suspicious community members immediately started to monitor their movements.At around 20h00, two of the men apparently got out of the car and walked over to a wood seller.After initially pretending to be interested in buying wood, the two reportedly pulled a gun on the merchant and tried to rob him.”His wife rescued him by grabbing the suspects’ firearm and shot between them,” Police spokesperson Sergeant Stephan Nuuyi reported yesterday.At this point, several residents became aware of the incident, and rushed to the scene.A gunfight ensued between community members and the suspects, after the two men who had remained in the car started firing at the rescuers.All four suspects managed to get back into the car and fled into the night.After the smoke cleared, the would-be robbers had left behind only a 9 mm pistol with a few bloodstains on it.Despite possible injuries sustained during the gunfight, all four suspects remain at large.