A Wagga taxi driver was assaulted by four men armed with a gun, leaving him with a broken nose.
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The Tuesday morning incident is the second armed robbery of a taxi in the past week.
Riverina Police District Superintendent Bob Noble said a taxi driver was stationary in his vehicle at a taxi rank outside Kooringal Mall.
“Around 6am, police were called to the scene of another armed robbery,” he said.
“He [the taxi driver] was approached by four male persons of interest.
“One of those males produced a firearm described as a double-barrel shotgun and he was robbed and a sum of cash was taken and also regrettably the taxi driver was assaulted and taken to hospital with a suspected broken nose.”
Superintendent Noble said he believed the injury sustained was due to a punch from one of the perpetrators and could not confirm if the gun was used to break the window on the driver’s side.
“They [the perpetrators] went to some lengths to disguise their appearance and one was armed,” he said.
“Clearly, with recent events in mind, there may be some linkage.
“They fled for some distance on foot and then escaped in two vehicles.”
One of the cars is described as possibly a silver Ford Falcon sedan and the other as a silver sedan with no other description.
“Operation Bulwark, which was established last year to combat property crime, has been expanded and broadened to target a suspected cohort of offenders,” Superintendent Noble said.
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“We are working hard on identifying those people.”
Superintendent Noble said police are working with 24-hour shift workers to ensure they fortify themselves against attacks.
“We don’t want people to be unduly alarmed, but given recent events we want people to be aware about personal safety,” he said.
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