Police have arrested five people in connection with the crime.
WATCH:
Two members of the Crystal Park Police Station, aged 29 and 35, were shot at around 3.30am this morning.
Both officers were in a stable condition this afternoon, after one was shot in the shoulder and another in the leg.
The victims were on a routine patrol in two separate vehicles, following up on information about a truck that was hijacked in Mpumalanga, in the early hours of the morning.
Gauteng police spokesperson Lieut Col Lungelo Dlamini told the City Times that people posing as Metro Police officers hijacked the vehicle.
“Two vehicles, a VW Golf 7 and a Mercedes Benz, were also seen and suspected of escorting the truck [in Benoni],” said Dlamini.
“While the police were summoning back-up, they were shot at by the occupants of the Mercedes Benz.
“They returned fire.”
Dlamini said an unknown number of suspects jumped out of the Mercedes as the driver of the vehicle drove off.
Three rifles were found; one in a dustbin, another next to a property’s boundary wall and another buried in a shallow hole on a nearby plot.
A large section of High Road, from Thomas to Lennox roads, was closed to traffic as people had cordoned off the scene.
Bullet cartridges were visible on the road and a sidewalk.
Gauteng MEC for Community Safety, Sizakele Nkosi-Malobane, lauded the arrest.
“I commend all law enforcement officers involved in the swift arrest of the five perpetrators of this callous crime and for stopping them on their tracks,” said Nkosi-Malobane.
“Police officers are meant to protect our communities and an attack on them is an attack on the state.
“I appeal to the criminal justice system to expedite this case and ensure that these suspects receive the harshest sentence.
“This will send a strong message to criminals out there that the criminal justice system will not hesitate to impose a harsh sentence on perpetrators of such heinous crimes.”
A manhunt for the suspects has been launched.
Police are also appealing to anyone who might have witnessed the incident and knows the whereabouts of the suspects to contact Crime Stop at 08600 10111, or their nearest police station at all hours.
A case of attempted murder has been opened and police are investigating.
A case of attempted murder has been opened.
