Armed robbery suspects evade capture

Published May 27, 2015

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Cape Town - Four suspects who allegedly stole two vehicles and committed an armed robbery before opening fire on City of Cape Town traffic officials, managed to evade arrest despite two of them having sustained “serious injuries”.

The City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security JP Smith said of the incident which occurred in Kuils River on Tuesday night.

“While all four suspects got away, officers recovered several firearms in the two vehicles, including an R4 rifle and a hunting rifle”, Smith said.

During a routine patrol, two traffic officers gave chase after two vehicles sped along the R102 in Kuils River. When the suspects were forced to stop at a red traffic light, an officer approached one of the suspects’ vehicles.

“One of the traffic officers approached the VW Golf to ask the driver to pull over, but he jumped out of the vehicle - firearm in hand - and pushed the officer to the ground,” said Smith.

The officer then alerted her colleague who opened fire on the suspects who proceeded to speed off.

Minutes after SAPS joined the car chase, one of the suspects, driving a Ford Kuga, collided with two other vehicles at a four-way stop. The two occupants of the Ford Kuga managed to flee the scene but had - according to Smith - sustained serious injuries.

Police continued to chase the other two suspects who, when speeding through Eerste River, had hit a kerb and collided with a police vehicle. Both suspects managed to flee the scene whilst firing at police officers.

“The suspects may well have made a completely clean getaway had it not been for the diligence and quick reaction of our officers who put their lives on the line. As a result, a number of firearms are off the streets and the suspects could be caught soon if they left enough evidence behind in the vehicles for investigators to work with,” Smith said.

Authorities found that both vehicles had been stolen and had apparently been used in an armed robbery in Somerset West earlier on Tuesday evening.

ANA

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