Gunmen early this morning attacked a group of miners on the trail to Five Star Backdam, North West District, shooting one dead and injuring two more.
Police have confirmed receiving a report that Cleveland Smithet, 37, of Kuru Kururu was shot dead while his brother Trevor Smithet, 40, also of Kuru Kururu is nursing a gunshot wound to the head and is unconscious. This newspaper was unable to ascertain the name of the other injured miner. There are also reports that a woman who was with the men was kidnapped by the gunmen.
Based on the information received by the brothersโ relatives, the group was heading out of the back dam around 0730 hours when they were held up, shot and relieved of the raw gold they had in their possession.
Police after experiencing difficulties eventually sourced vehicles to travel to the remote area earlier this afternoon to bring out the dead and injured.
