Cape Town – Police have launched a manhunt for armed robbers who shot and wounded one of their own in Wellington during a shootout on Thursday.
Officers were alerted about an armed robbery in progress at about 9.50am, when five suspects approached a farmer at his home and demanded cash.
According to police spokesperson Andrè Traut, upon their arrival in Commissioner Street the fleeing suspects allegedly opened fire at police, who retaliated.
Traut said one of the officers was shot in the ankle.
“Two of the suspects were apprehended in possession of a firearm and an imitation firearm which were confiscated. The injured police officer is in a stable condition,” he said.
Traut said police were searching for the other suspects, who escaped with a “small amount of cash”.
Meanwhile, a Somali national is among eight suspects who are expected to appear at the Athlone and Bellville Magistrate’s Court on Friday on firearm-related charges.
The 29-year-old was arrested on Wednesday by Browns Farm police who heard shots while patrolling in Crossroads.
“Upon investigation the police saw a male person coming out of a spaza shop in Klipfontein Road. The members approached the suspect and found a pistol without a serial number, and ammunition in his possession,” said Traut.
In Bellville, the Maitland Flying Squad arrested and detained a 28-year-old man for the illegal possession of a 7.65 pistol which was reported stolen in Gordons Bay in 2013, following a tip-off.
Cape Times