A 61-year-old woman was wounded when an armed gang opened fire at security officers at a pension paypoint at the Delft Civic Centre today.One of the gunmen was shot in the neck by police during the ensuing high-speed chase on the R300 highway. He was arrested and is under police guard in a city hospital.The condition of the pensioner, who is in the Delft Medi-Clinic, is not known.

The drama began shortly after 7am when two vehicles carrying six gunmen arrived at the civic centre, opposite the Delft police station.As security officers arrived to hand over the pension money to AllPay officials, the gunmen opened fire with horrified pensioners looking on.The woman was wounded as she was waiting in the queue. Senior security officer Ben Adams described how one of the gunmen had pointed a heavy-calibre firearm at him as he stood at the entrance to the centre. He ducked inside and moments later heard shots. When he looked outside he witnessed the shootout between the gunmen and security officers and three plain-clothed policemen. It is understood that two gunmen grabbed several trunks of cash containing about R500 000 and sped away with four other gunmen in the two vehicles. One of the getaway vehicles sped along the R300 highway towards Bellville with Delft police in hot pursuit. A gunmen was wounded as the police fired at the getaway car. He was arrested when the car spun out of control and landed in bushes.Three other robbers fled on foot. 
Meanwhile, another high- speed car chase developed on the N2 towards the city. The two gunmen in the vehicle fled into nearby bushes after the car came to a standstill.A manhunt, involving a police helicopter, got under way. Some of the stolen money was recovered in bushes along the N2 at about 8.30am. Superintendent Jacobus Andrews, head of detectives at Delft police, ordered that roads in the area be closed to prevent the robbers escaping.

The daily routines of people in Delft and at the paypoint came to a standstill as police investigators took over the crime scene and took statements from the shocked pensioners.Simphiwe Xako, spokesman for Western Cape MEC for Social Services and Poverty Alleviation Koleka Mqulwana, said:"What makes this incident so serious is that has affected the elderly collecting their pensions, the poor and the disabled."We would urge anyone who knows the identity of this gang to contact police."Andries de Jongh, AllPay operating manager for the Western Cape, would not confirm that R500 000 had been stolen. However, he said arrangements had been made to replace the cash, so pensioners would be paid today.De Jongh said: "Our staff have been traumatised by this as you can imagine. All our staff who have been affected will get counselling."He said AllPay employed an outside security company, Wesguard Security, to patrol at the pay point. All their security guards were armed.