Two killed, cop, robber injured in shoot-out

ISLAMABAD: Two passersby died when robbers shot them while attempting to flee after looting money from a citizen outside an Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) in the precincts of the Sector I-9 police station on Saturday. A policeman and a robber were injured in the shootout too.

In this regard, the zonal SP Sheikh Zubair Ahmed informed the media that the suspects, mounted on three separate motorbikes, swooped down on the said ATM and snatched money from a man who had just withdrawn Rs10,000.

However, as they started riding away, the victim started screaming for help which alerted a nearby police mobile and it went after them. During their escape, the suspects tried stopping a vehicle to escape in that but they failed as the driver, later identified as Amir, resisted them and did not stop. The suspects shot him, though he managed to drive off.

The robbers tried to snatch another vehicle, but its driver managed to escape as they opened fire.

Meanwhile, the police force surrounded the suspects and told them to surrender. Instead the robbers opened fire, injuring a policeman. Police returned fire and injured a suspect while other two managed to flee. However, during the crossfire a bullet hit a pedestrian, Osama, who was fatally injured. All injured in the incident were shifted to the hospital by the police, however, Amir and Osama could not survive, SP Ahmed said.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 8^th, 2020.