Durban - Police shot dead a suspected hijacker and arrested two others in uMlazi’s busy Mangosuthu Highway on Wednesday.
The men had allegedly been involved in a hijacking earlier in the Umbilo area and when police tried to stop them, a shoot-out ensued. A fourth suspect is on the run.
Police had been chasing a white Ford Figo, with four men in it, that had earlier been seen speeding away from the scene of a hijacking in Umbilo.
The hijacked car was inexplicably abandoned a few blocks away. Details of the suspects’ car, the Figo, were then circulated via police radio.
Police monitoring closed circuit television cameras spotted the car on the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Freeway (M4 south) heading towards uMlazi. They alerted police in the area.
Police from the Brighton Beach cluster task team then spotted the car driving at high speed into uMlazi and pursued it.
On the highway, across from the uMlazi Magistrate’s Court, the driver of the Figo spun the car at the busy intersection.
With the car facing oncoming traffic, the men jumped out and allegedly fired several shots at police, who returned fire.
The men ducked through traffic and ran down an embankment towards houses.
Between the houses and pathways along the road more shots were exchanged. One of the suspects was shot and died of his wounds.
Two others were arrested nearby and one is still at large.
Police recovered a firearm at the scene.
A police source said the Figo was fitted with false car number plates. The vehicle was traced to a car hire company in central Durban.
The source said the two arrested men were known to police.
One had been charged for hijacking in November while the other was due to appear in the uMlazi court on Thursday to face charges of business robbery.
Neon green paint and police cones marked the spots where bullet shells fell at the scene on Wednesday.
Glass fragments from the Figo were scattered on the ground. A back tyre was flat and 13 or more bullet holes could be seen in the front bonnet and windscreen.
Crime scene investigators, kitted in blue forensic suits, combed the scene and the car.
Independent Police Investigative Directorate members were also at the scene.
Police spokesman, Major Thulani Zwane, said two men had hijacked a 39-year-old woman’s car in Umbilo while she stood next to her vehicle, with her son.
The victim ran for help and alerted police.
After abandoning her car, a Chevrolet, the men got into their getaway vehicle, he said.
“In the exchange of gunfire between police and the men, a 22-year-old suspect was wounded and died nearby.
“Two suspects, aged 26 and 28, were arrested for carjacking and attempted murder.
“None of the policemen was injured during the shoot-out,” Zwane said.
He said the recovered firearm would be sent for ballistic tests to determine if it had been used in other crimes.
Daily News