CAPE TOWN – Private cars were damaged when alleged armed robbers opened fire on a police vehicle in Jakes Gerwel Drive this morning.
The shoot-out ended in one death and four arrests.
Police spokesperson Sgt Wesley Twigg said the five armed men had been travelling in a Toyota Hilux when police received a tip-off about the bakkie.
“Members of the National Intervention Unit followed up the information,” he said.
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Police followed the bakkie from Nyanga, but when the men realised they were being pursued they opened fire on the police vehicle in the Mitchell’s Plain section of Jakes Gerwel Drive.
“Police members returned fire, fatally wounding one adult male and arresting four others,” Twigg said. “An AK47 rifle and two 9mm pistols with ammunition were recovered on the scene.”
He said two private vehicles were damaged when the suspects’ vehicle collided with them during the shoot-out.
“The circumstances surrounding the death of the one suspect are under investigation by IPID (Independent Police Investigative Directorate), while the remaining suspects, aged 27 to 45, were detained and awaiting their first court appearance in Mitchell’s Plain on charges of possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition, attempted murder and an attack on police.”
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Lentegeur Community Police Forum (CPF) chair, Michael Jacobs, said the men were suspected armed robbers.
“We as the Lentegeur CPF commend the police for acting so swiftly in affecting the arrest of the suspects and taking much needed guns off the street,” Jacobs said.
Burger King robbers sought
Meanwhile, Lentegeur police have released the images of three suspected armed robbers and have asked the community to help trace them.
Lentegeur police spokesperson Const Navon van Houten said the three men had robbed a Burger King outlet at Westgate Mall over the weekend.
Van Houten said the men tied up the staff and forced them to open the safe.
They fled the scene in a white Toyota Avanza with R9 000 cash.
Anyone with information on the incident can contact the investigating officer at 079 584 4205.
