Motorist dies in hijackers' gunbattle with cops

File picture

File picture

Published Nov 21, 2016

Share

Johannesburg - Vehicles crashed into each other as terrified motorists ducked a hail of bullets along Main Reef Road in Joburg.

One of the gunmen, standing on the back of a hijacked Nissan bakkie, continued to shoot indiscriminately as police officers - including some from the Soweto Flying Squad - were in hot pursuit of the heavily armed gang.

When the dust settled, a man in a Toyota Fortuner, who had been driving by, was found slumped over the steering wheel. He had been hit by a stray bullet. Two hijackers were also shot dead.

This was the scene in Riverlea at the weekend when the police fought a gang of hijackers in the street in broad daylight.

It was just one of the crimes reported in the city. Another was the shooting of five people in Jeppestown near the Maboneng precinct.

This was as the country approaches the festive season, when there is usually a spike in the number of cases of robbery.

The SAPS, metro police and other law enforcement agencies on Sunday declared war on criminals.

Police spokesperson Colonel Kay Makhubele said it all started around 11am on Saturday when police officers buying food in the Joburg CBD witnessed the hijacking of a Toyota Quantum.

They sprang into action, chasing after the Quantum with their official vehicle and calling for back-up.

Unbeknown to the police, a VW Passat that drove past them was escorting the hijackers. Along the way, Makhubele said, two hijackers jumped out of the Quantum and hijacked a Nissan bakkie.

“They just pulled the driver out. One got on the back while the other was driving. The one at the back was shooting randomly at anyone trying to get close,” he said.

Motorists along Main Reef Road were caught in the crossfire, and a man in a Fortuner was shot by a stray bullet and died on the scene, Colonel Lungelo Dlamini said.

A police officer was also injured after he was shot.

Two hijackers were shot dead by the Flying Squad officers. The hijacked bakkie came to a halt after crashing into a pavement.

When the gunman was shooting from the back of the bakkie, Makhubele said, four cars collided as the drivers tried to duck the bullets. The police officers later found that the Passat and the Quantum had been abandoned in Main Reef Road. There was a pistol inside the Passat, Makhubele said.

It was not known how many hijackers were involved in the incident.

In another incident that afternoon, officers from the Joburg metro police department (JMPD) busy with stop-and-searches in Midrand found a man ferrying pistols, explosives and bullet-proof vests in a hijacked vehicle.

JMPD spokesperson Wayne Minnaar said the driver did not stop when the officers tried to stop the vehicle, prompting the officers to chase it.

“They intercepted the vehicle and cornered it in Blue Hills,” he said, adding that the driver, in his early 30s, was arrested.

“When the police officers searched the boot they found bullet-proof vests from the SAPS, the SANDF, Correctional Services and a private security company. There were also explosives and three R5 rifles,” Minnaar said.

A police jersey with the rank of constable and 200 rounds of ammunition were recovered. The car had been hijacked in Kempton Park.

[email protected]

The Star

Related Topics: