A man in his early 40’s is in a serious condition in hospital following a shoot-out between police officers and the would-be robbers.
The shoot-out took place in Kensington yesterday.
The police officer who was injured during the fight is also in hospital, but in a stable condition.
The incident occurred close to the intersection of Langermann and Queen streets.
The Cleveland SAPS communications officer, Constable Mpho Mashakane, said the police officers were patrolling the area when they were alerted to suspicious men walking in the area.
“Our two members stopped the five men and asked to searched them. One of the suspects started shooting at the officers. The officers returned fire and called for backup,” she said.
She added that an unlicensed firearm was recovered from one of the men.
An eyewitness said he saw the officers talking to the suspicious men.
“One of the suspects pretended to surrender. He faced away with hands held high. In the blink of an eye, he pulled out his gun and shot at the officer. The suspects all ran in different directions. They were all firing as they were running. The other policeman charged towards the one who shot at his colleague. They exchanged fire until the suspect fell,” said an eyewitness.
Cost Mashakane said it was unclear whether the men wanted to hijack a cigarette van or wanted to rob a business in the area.
“We are still investigating. But preliminary investigations point to a cigarette delivery van, which was close by. At present, we are following several leads and we hope the evidence we collected at the scene and the arrested suspect will help us in our investigations,” she said.
Cost Mashakane also called on the public, who may have information that could help the police solve the case, to contact Crime Stop on 086 10111. Alternatively, contact the Cleveland SAPS on 011 677-5745/6.
