A suspected Pretoria ATM bomber has been killed during an early morning high-speed chase with police.
Police exchanged gunfire with at least eight gunmen over nearly 20km on Thursday.
It is believed that the gunmen had earlier been involved in the robbery of several late-night revellers near Hartbeespoort Dam and were about to attack an ATM near Xanada Shopping Complex when they were spotted.
The chase began when security guards at the complex spotted the men, who were parked at the centre in a BMW and a Daewoo.
Becoming suspicious and fearing they were about to blow up and rob an ATM, the guards radioed the police for assistance.
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Police officers raced to the complex and the men opened fire on them before they sped off along the R511 towards Erasmia.
The gunmen, who were armed with an assortment of weapons, including R-5 semi-automatic rifles, continued to fire on police as they swerved between oncoming cars.
After being radioed for assistance, Erasmia police station and police Air Wing members responded by blocking off roads.
Police, who lost sight of the gunmen several times, eventually found their cars abandoned on the R511 near Erasmia, after they had apparently lost control of their vehicles.
It is thought that one of the gunmen may have accidentally shot at their accomplices' getaway vehicle, causing the driver of the second vehicle to lose control as he tried to avoid the other getaway car, which had crashed.
The rest of the gang, several of whom police believe were injured in the crash, managed to escape into the mountains.
It is thought that the suspected ATM bomber was killed when he was thrown from the vehicle during the crash.
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This article was originally published on page 2 of The Star on May 02, 2008
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