By Augustine Ehikioya
Police officials in South Africa have fatally wounded three crime suspects in a shootout after the suspects allegedly hijacked a vehicle.
It, however, arrested two other suspects after the shootout.
This was contained in a statement by Lieutenant Colonel Philani Nkwalase of the Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigation (HAWKS).
It was made available to Security Watch Africa (SWA).
The statement said “Three suspects died yesterday afternoon during the exchange of gunfire with an integrated Police team led by HAWKS whilst two were arrested.
“An intelligence driven operation was conducted by the Hawks’ Tactical Operational Management Section assisted by Tracker Connect, Gauteng Crime Intelligence, SAPS Highway Patrol, GTP Saturation Unit, ICB Insurance Crime Bureau and Badboyz Security in Roodepoort, searching for hijacking suspects who are targeting VW Polo vehicles.
“The team discovered that the suspects were in motion and intercepted them on the side of the road immediately after allegedly hijacking a Polo.
“As the members approached the suspects, the suspects greeted them with a hail of bullets which led to an exchange of gunfire that resulted in three suspects fatally wounded.
“Two suspects, aged between 25 and 30, were arrested and the injured owner of the Polo, who was held in the vehicle, was rescued. He was taken to hospital for medical attention,”
On the recoveries, the statement said “Three firearms with ammunition, cellphones and heavy duty gloves were recovered.”
The suspects, it said, will be charged with murder, attempted murder, carjacking, possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition.
“They will appear in Johannesburg Magistrate’s court on Friday, 10 December 2021.
“Preliminary investigation revealed suspects are also linked to more than 18 hijacking cases committed in the Gauteng areas.
“The syndicate members were reportedly using a Golf GTi during the commission of crime whilst in previous occasions they have been using a Toyota Corolla,” it stated.