Cash-in-transit criminals led police on a high-speed chase through Johannesburg’s Rosettenville area, exchanging gunfire as they swerved through traffic in a stunning showdown that left dead bodies littering the streets.
There were eight gunmen dead and four police officers injured when the smoke cleared. Several of the wounded officers spent the night struggling for their lives in city hospitals after being shot in the line of duty. Eight more suspects were detained. An undercover police operation coordinated by Gauteng police commissioner Elias Mawela culminated in a high-speed police pursuit. The operation had lasted days and included the surveillance of a suspect group by undercover agents.
In the early afternoon, the gang was seen leaving a safe house near the junction of Gotthard and Friars Hill streets, according to police sources acquainted with the investigation. There was a shootout as the suspects saw the cops closing in. A hail of bullets was fired by the gang’s members, who were armed with assault rifles, towards the cops who were pursuing them.
As the fleeing caravan made its way back to their hiding area, a police plane flew above, tracking their every move. A police officer who was carrying a firearm was wounded when bullets ripped through the helicopter’s fuselage. As the helicopter turned to fly above the neighborhood, he opened fire on the assailants. He was shot in the chest, causing the pilot to suspend the chase and transport him to Netcare Milpark Hospital, where he was treated for his injuries.
The gang’s last stand was carried out in their underground bunker. An abandoned BMW X3 with two men’s bloodied bodies in the backseat was parked in the driveway. Their pistols were still on their chests. Another man’s body was found nearby. The walls of their hideout were covered with bullet holes.
Authorities found one of the gunmen, who had fled on foot, and he was killed while resting against a wall at the corner of Violet and Short streets. The odor of blood filled the air, and flies had gathered around his face. His weapon, an old and corroded AK47, had been abandoned nearby. Other members of the gang sought refuge in nearby houses. The neighborhood was swarmed by police officers, who went door-to-door. Shocking sounds of automatic gunfire and shock grenades were heard echoing down the narrow alleyways, terrifying onlookers.
An anonymous woman told News24 that several of the desperate robbery men took sanctuary in her yard amid the firing. She want to remain anonymous. “Taking my kid from his bed, I locked the doors behind me. Uncontrollably, my child wept. In my mind, I knew this was our final day on earth, so I silently prayed to God. Within moments after hearing their footsteps, I was startled to hear someone sprinting across my yard. They were all armed to the teeth with machine guns “her voice trembled as she said.
“Behind my bakkie, a few of them sought sanctuary. Later, when the police were pursuing them, they jumped over my wall as they were being followed “she said. Another occupant claimed to have seen a group run over her roof and inside her apartment. Moments before he came, Mawela’s cops were busy removing trash from residents’ homes. Anyone who was hiding inside was urged to come out before the doors were splintered into shards.
When asked about the gang’s bomb plot, Mawela said that they had meant to target cash in transit, but were foiled by a well-trained police squad. As he added, “They were watching a money truck and were going to hit it, but our guys advised that prevention is better than cure.”
In the words of Mawela, their plan had been in the works for days before it was derailed by intelligence passed to the police standing by. “Our teams were close following them, and when they discovered we were here, they raced to their safe house. They had not committed their crime last week, but they chose to do it today. That’s when our well-versed team stepped in to help “he said, according to her.
Two Netcare911 air ambulances transported the two injured police officers to Union and Milpark hospitals for for care. It has been reported that two police officers were shot in the head and chest, both of whom are in critical condition.
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Battlefield Joburg: Bodies litter the streets after cops ambush CIT gang | News24
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