ROBBERS fled the scene after a shootout with an armed response officer in Summerveld last night. The men also abandoned their getaway vehicle which was loaded with stolen goods.
Blue Security’s operations manager, Brian Jackson, said an armed response officer was responding to an alarm activation at a property in Summer View Place at around 7pm on 6 July when the incident happened. “The officer found that the gate had been derailed and a blue Hyundai getaway vehicle, with its engine running and loaded with a flatscreen television and other stolen goods, was parked in the driveway,” he said.
The officer radioed for backup and when the second officer arrived on the scene the robbers fired shots and a shootout began. “The housebreakers attempted to get away and drive their vehicle towards the driveway entrance while a robber inside the vehicle fired shots at our officer. Our officer immediately returned fire,” he said.
One of the robbers jumped out of the getaway car and continued shooting at the officer. The driver tired to reversed the vehicle out of the yard but instead ran it off the driveway and into a wall.
Jackson said the gang then jumped out of the vehicle and fled the scene towards the bottom of the garden. “The SAPS K9 unit and neighbourhood watch members scoured the area in search of the robbers but they escaped into the valley,” he said. No injuries were reported and the Hillcrest SAPS attended the scene of the crime.
Jackson said a flatscreen television and other stolen goods were recovered from the getaway vehicle, which had no registration plates, except for a temporary registration number displayed on the back windscreen.
