One suspected robber has been killed and three others escaped after a shootout with the police in the Mthatha CBD in the Eastern Cape.

It is alleged four men attempted to rob a G4S cash-in-transit vehicle while they were busy off-loading cash at a local grocery store.

They allegedly took two bags of cash and drove away. Eyewitnesses say after taking the money, the suspected robbers were intercepted by a member of the Tactical Response Team while trying to escape.

A shootout ensued and one of the alleged robbers was shot and killed.

A witness explains what happened.

“There was a policeman who was driving around and he tried to block the vehicle. Then there was a shooting. It was around 10 in the morning. The robbers got out of the car and ran to hijack an old man’s black Mercedes Benz. They threw him out of the car. I don’t know what happened because the same robbers got out and went to another car and drove off. Others were hiding but he managed to get away in a 4×4 vehicle.”