Police gun down armed robber in fire exchange

Police yesterday gunned down a suspected armed robber in Harare's Waterfalls suburb who was shooting back at them as he tried to escape.

Police spokesperson Charity Charamba confirmed the death of the "notorious" robber who shot dead one person some few weeks ago while on a robbing spree.

The robber, whose name was not disclosed,  also at one point shot a taxi driver in the arm before robbing him.

He then went on to shoot a police officer who is currently recuperating in hospital.

"There was exchange of fire early today (yesterday) between an armed robber and a police officer.

"Police had information about the man's whereabouts and when they went to his place of residence to arrest him, he started to shoot at them before he was killed in the process," said Charamba.

The police spokesperson warned robbers not to resort to guns as they can only end up on the losing side.

According to eyewitnesses, the alleged robber   was hiding in Mukuvisi River after he escaped a police trap to arrest him on Sunday night.

It is believed that during the same night the robber was shot on his leg but he managed to escape and hid along Mukuvisi River.

Witnesses said police managed to track down the robber, who allegedly shot back at the approaching detectives.

The police officers returned fire and shot him in the head.

In a movie-style, the armed robber reportedly shouted for his wife to bring another loaded gun but the detectives managed to thwart the move.