Cape Town – The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) is probing the shooting in which a suspect apparently wearing Uber Eats clothing was wounded after allegedly pointing a fake firearm at police.
The man, currently detained in hospital under police guard, was shot on Saturday night after he and two alleged accomplices posing as drivers for the popular e-hailing food service were involved in an alleged robbery and hijacking in Parow.
His accomplices, aged 32 and 38, appeared in the Parow Magistrate’s Court yesterday.
They were arrested after a high-speed chase in which the driver lost control of the vehicle.
Ipid spokesperson Sontaga Seisa said they would investigate the discharge of a police firearm. No arrests have yet been made.
Police spokesperson Andrè Traut said yesterday that officers at the scene later established that the firearm brandished by the suspects was a toy gun.
Uber Eats said it was now working with police to establish the circumstances leading to the use of their branding.
“Safety is a priority and while police have confirmed that the suspected courier (the hijacked vehicle) is not registered to the app, we will
work closely with the authorities to provide any necessary information to assist in this,” the company said in a statement.
The incident comes after the murder of a 30-year-old e-hailing driver on December 17. It was alleged that the driver was called out to Nyanga after 5am by a potential client.
He was later found dead in his vehicle with a gunshot wound to the head. Cartridges and a knife were found in the vehicle.