AK-47-wielding gunmen fire at police on North Coast Road
One of the suspects was apprehended by a police dog while hiding in a clothing rack.
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TWO suspects were arrested after a dramatic car chase that started on outside Standard Bank on North Coast Road earlier this afternoon. The Greenwood Park SAPS Crime Prevention Unit and four armed suspects exchanged gunfire after police approached the vehicle, which was parked outside a bank on the busy road.
W/O Leon Audh of the Greenwood Park SAPS said they received information regarding a suspicious vehicle (a white Golf GTI) and immediately dispatched team to the scene to investigate.
“Police blocked the entrance to the bank and when the suspects noticed the police they made an attempt to flee, ramming into the police vehicle. Before managing to escape the suspects produced weapons – one AK-47 and two 9mm pistols – and a shootout ensued,” he said.
The suspects then fled towards uMgeni and turned into Smiso Nkwanyana (Goble) Road. There they hijacked a driver in a Mercedes Benz and switched vehicles, he said. Later they abandoned the hijacked vehicle on Cypress Avenue and fled on foot.
Fortunately, a police helicopter fed the unit with information and they were able to track the suspects to Stamford Hill Road. Two of the suspects attempted to hide in a business premises.
“When police followed the suspects into the building, one suspect fired at the officers. They returned fire and managed to shoot the suspect. The second was apprehended by a dog unit while hiding in a clothing rack,” said Audh.
The two suspects have been arrested and transported to a local hospital. The two 9mm pistols were found in the possession of the two arrested men and the AK-47 was recovered from the second abandoned vehicle.
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