Two men were arrested while robbing a shop, the police said.

In a statement, the Police Force said that a Sergeant and a constable were on patrol and managed to stop a theft that was in progress and arrest two men in a shop on triq il-Maskli, St Paul's Bay at 3am on Monday.

The two officers had heard shouting coming from the shop while on patrol, and noted two people committing a theft. The police ordered them to drop their weapons and obey orders given. One of the men did so, while the other ran inside the store. Other police officers arrived and a noise was hears inside the shop's storage area. The man was spotted while struggling with the garage door.

The man again tried to escape towards the entrance of the shop and was stopped by police. A medical team arrived onsite to assist the two shop workers - a 29-year-old woman who resides in Msida and a 44-year-old man who resides in St Paul's Bay, the latter who had suffered slight injuries from a knife when one of the thieves pressed a knife against his back, the police said. The woman was not injured.

Magistrate Caroline Farrugia Frendo launched and inquiry and police investigations are ongoing.