Durban -
A car hijacker was wounded in a shoot-out between a private security company’s guards and a gang of three in Glen Anil, north of Durban, on Wednesday afternoon.
One, who was shot in the head, was sent to Mahatma Gandhi Hospital and was in a critical condition.
Another was caught after trying to make his escape through bush and the third was still at large.
The shooting, which happened about 5pm, started when the security guards gave chase to the men, who had held up a motorist at gunpoint and hijacked his vehicle, an Isuzu bakkie, outside his La Lucia home.
Marshall Security spokesman Tyron Powell said a witness phoned him and gave a description of the car driven by the hijackers.
“We went to the victim’s house and circulated details of the vehicle. One of our patrol vehicles in Umhlanga saw the hijacked car and they started following it down Glen Anil Street.”
Powell said another vehicle arrived to support the first security vehicle.
“As soon as they saw that there was more than one vehicle, the suspects started to flee.”
While trying to escape, two of them, who were in an Opel Corsa, crashed into another car.
The suspects got out and a shoot-out ensued.
“One suspect was shot in the head, the other fled into the bush.”
“The one who was driving the hijacked car hit a few cars and the vehicle came to a stop near the bottom of Glen Anil Street.
“He then got out.
“He ran into the bush to hide and had his firearm,” said Powell.
The security personnel followed and were able to find one of the suspects in the bush with the help of their dog unit.
Powell said they learnt that the Corsa the suspects were driving had been hijacked a week ago.
Two guns were recovered.
The incident saw traffic backed up in Glen Anil Street.
Other than the injured suspect, no one else was seriously hurt in the incident.
The Mercury contacted the police for comment, but they had not responded by the time of publication.
The Mercury