KwaZulu-Natal Family Freed After Being Held Hostage by Armed Criminal
A KwaZulu-Natal family have been released after they were held hostage by a robbery suspect.
It is understood about five suspects entered a cellphone store in Cato Ridge on Tuesday and held up the staff at gun point.
Police say the suspects stole a large number of cellphones and fled the scene towards Umbumbulu but lost control of the vehicle on a dirt road.
The police’s Jay Naicker said one suspect was handcuffed, three others ran into the bushes while one other suspect fled into a nearby house and held the occupants hostage.
“After a lengthy standoff, with the assistance of the Hostage negotiators, the suspect was apprehended and his firearm was seized. The grandmother and her two young grandchildren who were held hostage were released unharmed.”
Naicker said the three other suspects are still on the run and are being pursued by police officers with their K9’s.
