VREDENBURG – Filled with fear and mixed emotions, a Bangladesh shopworker is still in shock after a shooting incident at the shop on Wednesday 24 June in the Louwville neighbourhood.

Captain Tania Helfrich, district spokesperson for the West Coast police, confirmed that the incident took place around 20:40.

“Two unknown men forced a 44-year-old Bangladeshi national and his 25-year-old colleague to open the door of their shop in Wisteria Street, Louwville. The suspects fired shots, during which the 25-year-old man sustained gunshot wounds to his left arm and abdomen. The suspects then fled the scene,” Helfrich added.

According to the worker, the robbers approached the shop armed with a gun, demanding that the security gate be opened. One robber pushed a gun through the opening where customers exchange cash for goods.

“I was standing by the counter, and the robber pointed the gun. They said we should open or they are going to shoot. I ran to the back, but my colleague did not get the chance, and they shot him three times. We phoned the police and ambulance, and they arrived quickly.”

He confirmed that his colleague is still recovering in a local hospital.

The worker, who is too afraid to give his name, believes that the suspects are not from Louwville, although he could not identify them due to the masks they were wearing.

He said a similar incident happened about three years ago, when robbers tried to rob the shop, but luckily no one was hurt on that occasion.

Although shaken up by the incident, the shop will remain open.

While Weslander was on the scene, a group of youths taunted the visibly scared worker. They said he must open his shop so that “he can also be shot”.

Helfrich said an attempted murder case is being investigated by the Vredenburg Police.