HEAVILY ARMED SUSPECT GUNNED DOWN, ANOTHER NABBED

HEAVILY ARMED SUSPECT GUNNED DOWN, ANOTHER NABBED

By BRIAN KAJENGO

Police in Amersfoort arrested a 51-year-old suspect and shot dead another one aged 39, during a shoot out after a long car chase 0n Wednesday 23 January 2014.

The incident unfolded when police in Volksrust spotted a suspicious looking Audi sedan heading towards Amersfoort. They then conducted a vehicle enquiry using the registration number of the vehicle and discovered that it mounted with false registration plates.  

The members requested back up from Amersfoort police station after they tried to chase the vehicle with no success. They rushed in the direction of the said vehicle and spotted it with two occupants. On approaching the vehicle, they signaled the driver to halt but he sped off taking the gravel road to Piet Retief and a chase ensued.

Police then found the suspects’ vehicle left abandoned on the road and stopped at it. The suspects, who were armed with AK47’s and an R5 rifle, emerged from the bushes and held the two cops at gunpoint, took their cellphones and fled the scene using the police van.

On the way the villains came across a police vehicle, which was also on their look out, and they signalled it to stop. Immediately the police stopped, the suspects held them at gunpoint too, took their cellphones and disarmed them, then broke the two way communication radio before they drove off.

Farmers around the area activated for assistance and came with a truck to block the road together with the police whilst other members continued with a chase. When the suspects noticed that the road was blocked, they tried to make a U-turn but they had no escape route as the other police vehicles were behind them. One of the suspects, who was a passenger, jumped out of the vehicle with an AK47 and opened fire at the police.

The echoing of the machine gunshots forced the cops to retaliate. One suspect was fatally wounded and the other one was arrested unharmed.  In this event, the polices’ careful and thorough work led to the recovery of illegal firearms, three AK47’s, an R5 rifle together with a 9mm pistol that was robbed from the police earlier.

In the boot of the suspects’ vehicle that was abandoned, police found explosives, balaclavas, gloves, a hammer, wiring for battery suspected to be used during Automated Teller Machine (ATM) blasts and a large number of live rounds of AK47. 

The police are currently pursuing leads to determine the scope of the suspect’s involvement in other criminal activities.

The suspect is currently facing charges of attempted murder, hijacking, armed robbery, pointing of firearm, possession of explosives, possession of implements used in the commission of crime, possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition.

The miscreant will appear before the Sheepmore Periodical Court tomorrow, 24 January 2014.

The Provincial Commissioner of Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Thulani Ntobela congratulates the farmers for the sterling job they did to support the police in apprehending the suspects.

“I appreciate the risk they took in ensuring that the suspects do not escape irrespective of the way they were heavily armed. I hope the entire community could take cue from them in fighting any form of crime. This shows that if we work together with our communities we will win this battle of fighting crime”, said General Ntobela.