Cellphone tower battery thief shot dead in Canelands

An unidentified man was shot and killed while attempting to steal batteries from a cellphone tower in Canelands – Verulam.

Members of Reaction Unit, South Africa (RUSA) and the Verulam SAP Rapid Response Unit arrived on the scene after security officers tasked with safeguarding the communications tower reported the shooting.

It was established that three individuals broke into the facility which is situated in a remote part of a sugar cane plantation. They were in the process of stealing batteries when they were accosted by security officers. The suspects allegedly opened fire on the officers who returned fire and shot one of the suspects twice in the chest and once in the abdomen. The injured suspect was declared deceased on arrival of Medics.

A search was conducted for the remaining culprits who fled on foot however they managed to evade arrest.