A Johannesburg metro police officer was shot in the abdomen and a suspected robber in the leg during a shootout in Randburg on Thursday morning, police said.

Senior Superintendent Noxolo Kweza said the shooting on the corners of Oxford and Jan Smuts roads followed a robbery at a catering business in Randburg at 8.15am.

"Three suspects walked into a business, took cash and a laptop and tied up the three people they found inside," said Kweza.

With the laptop and the undisclosed amount of money, the men are alleged to have then flagged down a taxi driving down the road and fled in it.

"But their alleged victims managed to untie themselves and follow the taxi. On the way, they saw a metro police vehicle and told the officers what had just happened," she said.

The metro police officers gave chase and a shootout ensued between the officers and the robbers when they got to Oxford and Jan Smuts roads, leaving one officer and one alleged robber injured.

Two other men tried to flee but one of them fell and injured himself, leading to his arrest.

The third man was still at large.

Kweza said there had been no passengers in the taxi when the three armed men flagged it down.

Netcare 911 spokesman Chris Botha said the injured officer was taken to the Milpark hospital while the suspected robber shot on the leg was taken to the Charlotte Maxeke hospital.