A 16-month-old baby was shot dead during a robbery in Eersterust, Pretoria, police said on Wednesday.

Captain Johannes Maheshu said two gun-wielding men, aged between 20 and 26, broke a window to gain entry into the house in Eeinheid's Place in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

The occupants included a man, his wife, their three daughters and the baby.

"They woke up the family, tied the husband up and ransacked the house.

"They only made off with a cellphone and an undisclosed amount of cash," Maheshu said.

He said they were investigating what prompted the men to shoot the baby.

According to Beeld newspaper, one of the men shot the baby in the head, after they could not find a cellphone on the wife.

The report said the men asked the woman why she did not have a cellphone, as she was too old not to have one.

The men reportedly fled after the husband, upon hearing the loud bang of the pistol, broke the bedroom window and threw himself out.

Maheshu said they were not investigating any leads yet.

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