Johannesburg - Three suspects sustained numerous gunshot wounds on Thursday morning on the N14 after a botched cash-in-transit heist.
Police wounded three men in a hail of gunfire after they allegedly tried to hijack a cash vehicle in Westonaria.
They were foiled and the men fled without taking any money.
However, police got wind of what had transpired and officers were stationed along the freeway to apprehend the fleeing white Toyota Hilux bakkie that was spotted at the scene.
Colonel Kay Makhubele said the officers were waiting at a petrol station in the area between the N14 and Diepsloot when they spotted the vehicle.
“As it approached, they tried to stop it. However, the car just drove off and the occupants started shooting at the police.
“The officers returned fire and shot all the three men who are now under police guard in the hospital. None of the officers were injured,” Makhubele said.
Two unlicensed firearms, blue lights and handcuffs were found in the car, Makhubele said.
“It was also discovered that the bakkie had been hijacked in Mpumalanga,” he said.
No details of the hijacking about that case were available at the time of publication.
The Star