A shootout between armed suspects and Sophiatown police ended in a clean sweep for the boys in blue, and the same can’t be said for the perpetrators.
Sophiatown shootout: Here’s what we know
In a statement, Gauteng police spokesperson Brigadier Brenda Muridili confirmed no officer involved in the fiery encounter sustained any injury.
Instead, three suspects were arrested and one other was fatally wounded. A fifth gunman, by sheer luck, managed to escape on foot. According to police, a team of officers caught wind of a suspicious-looking Audi Q5 during a patrol sweep in Florida.
If the lads had allowed the police to snoop past, they would have, in all likelihood, avoided the shootout, but someone in that Audi was trigger happy.
“When the occupants in the Audi noticed the police vehicle, one of them opened fire towards the police and the driver sped off but the police pursued them,” Brig Muridili revealed.
A high-speed chase ensued soon thereafter but it ended abruptly at the corner of Nadine and Albertina Sisulu Road, “when the Audi came to a stop after a tyre burst.”
Another opportunity was presented to the gunmen to surrender, but once again, the suspects responded with brute force and released live rounds at the officers.
“The suspects tried to shoot their way out but the police retaliated. Three suspects were arrested, one managed to flee on foot while the other was declared dead on the scene. SAPS members did not sustain any injuries,” the police added.
Searching the vehicle, a firearm was recovered and, turns out, it was stolen in De Deur, in January 2022. Police confirmed the firearm “will be sent for ballistic tests at the Forensic Science Laboratory to determine whether it has been used in other violent crimes.”
“The arrested suspects will be subjected to profiling to determine whether they have been involved in other serious and violent crimes,” Muridili confirmed.
The suspects are due to appear at the Roodepoort Magistrate’s Court on attempted murder and gun charges, on Tuesday. The fifth suspect is, at the time this article was published, believed to be at large.
