Security guard shot during attempted robbery (updated)

Would-be robbers shot a security guard in the leg during an attempt to rob a cash transport company outside a Limassol supermarket, police said.

His condition was not life threatening. Initial reports suggested he had been shot with an airgun but police later said that the two perpetrators had been armed with a pistol.

The incident happened outside a supermarket in Yermasoyia just before 12pm, while the pair tried to snatch a bag full of cash, which the two security guards had just collected.

Two masked men, one wielding a pistol, appeared on the scene and demanded the money in Greek, police said.

The security guards resisted, resulting in one getting shot in the right thigh and the would-be robbers fleeing empty handed.

Limassol CID chief Ioannis Soteriades said the perpetrators also fired a shot in the air. They abandoned the scene on foot, police said.

It was not immediately clear if they had a vehicle waiting for them somewhere nearby.