Gunmen killed in shootout with cops
Crown Mines – On Tuesday two suspected armed robbers were killed in a shootout with police in an integrated intelligence-led operation which prevented a planned business heist, according to police.
Gauteng police spokesperson Captain Kay Makhubele said police saw the suspects’ vehicle, a Nissan X-Trail that was stolen in Johannesburg in August, travelling towards Xavier Road in Ormonde at about 14.00h.
“The suspects allegedly failed to stop on instruction of the police, leading to a high-speed chase. Police returned fire after the suspects started shooting at them. The suspect’s vehicle was cornered at Lakewood Estate in Ormonde. The suspects disembarked, ran off and continued firing shots at the police. Police later caught up with the suspects. Two of them succumbed to injuries while the third suspect was taken into custody,” Makhubele said.
He added that none of the officers were injured.
“Five unlicensed firearms were recovered, three rifles, two handguns and ammunition. Police also seized the suspects’ vehicle, a police hand-radio and other items that would have been used in commiting the planned robbery,” he said.
Gauteng police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Elias Mawela has instructed an urgent investigation to establish possible links between the suspects and the unlicensed weapons to previous serious and violent crimes.
Makhubele said police believed the suspects could be behind a recent spate of robberies, where Chinese business people were targeted and others robbed along the M2 highway and in the Crown Mines area.
