By CLEVER ZULU –

A GUN  battle between Police and bandits rocked Lusaka’s Twin Palm shopping mall yesterday leaving two dead and two food outlet workers nursing gunshot wounds.
Two robbers were gunned down while others managed to escape with more than K300, 000.
The midday shooting caused panic as shoppers scampered for safety, and shop owners closed their shops in fear, as business came to a standstill at the Mall in Avondale area.
The two workers shot at the scene were identified as Nicholas Kachinga and Mwandu Kaluba of Subway food outlet, who are currently nursing injuries at Levy Mwanawasa Hospital and the University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka, where they were rushed for treatment.
The thieves targeted an Armaguard Security company vehicle which had parked to collect cash from the Shoprite outlet at the Mall.
The suspects armed with an AK47 assault rifle and with an iron bar pounced on the security workers after they collected the cashbox from Shoprite.
As the suspects struggled to get the cashbox at gunpoint, an alert paramilitary officer, who was on patrol in the area, confronted the suspects and this led to an exchange of fire.
Lusaka Province Commissioner of Police Charity Katanga also confirmed the incident in an interview in Lusaka yesterday.
“The criminals were trailing a Toyota Hilux single cab registration number ALP 5794 belonging to Armaguard Security Company which was being driven by Donald Mawili of Chawama Township and was going to collect cash from Shoprite,” Ms Katanga said.
“The one with an iron bar threatened to hit the man carrying the cash box but the security officer resisted to surrender the cash box. This prompted the other with an AK47 to point the gun at him and he dropped the cash box.”
It was during the gun battle that the two workers were hit by stray bullets, while shoppers scampered for safety.
The police officer’s gun developed a fault after he gunned down one of the bandits but that he managed to retrieve the robbers’ firearm after they dropped it, in their attempts to flee the scene.
He then shot dead the second attacker, while two others escaped in a Toyota Spacio vehicle with the cashbox.
“Our police officer’s gun developed a fault but he managed to get the criminals’ gun which he used to shoot the criminal down, while the other two who were in the Spacio managed to escape with K337, 000 cash,” she said.
A witness concealing identity, separately informed the Times of the shooting via a text message.
“Please help us, am hiding and there is shooting going on outside, they (thieves) wanted to steal money from security guards and they are shooting at each other with the Police,” the person narrated.
Calm was restored hours after the shooting but a scanty population of shoppers returned to the mall though some shops remained closed in fear of further attack.