An armed robbery attempt was thwarted by Plumtree villagers who rushed to assist a shopkeeper at Kweneng Business centre on Tuesday after a man posing as a customer tried to rob her.

Matabeleland police spokesperson Inspector Loveness Mangena confirmed the incident and dismissed allegations that the incident might be linked to the recent case of school children who were shot in Empandeni.

“This person arrived at 8 pm. He took out a US$1 note saying he was hungry and wanted to buy a soft drink. The complainant went to open the shop, and he tried to push her inside, sensing danger the woman screamed attracting three people who were still outside the shops,” said Mangena.

“When interrogated, the suspect said he only wanted to buy a drink, he immediately left only to come back 40 minutes later and fired two shots in the direction of people who were still there, they ran away and hid in one of the homesteads close by. They locked themselves inside a house and he damaged four window panels,” said Inspector Mangena.