According to police the Hillbrow police were conducting a stop and search operation at the corner of Claim and Ockerse streets. Police spokesperson Constable Mduduzi Zondo said the police saw a suspicious man standing on the corner. Zondo said, “The man was looking in all directions as if he was waiting for someone or something. We approached him and asked to search him. We searched him and found an unlicensed firearm.”
Zondo said the gun was a Lorcin 9mm pistol. He said the 23-year-old suspect lived in Hillbrow. According to Zondo the suspect told the police that he purchased the firearm in one of the hostels in Soweto. Zondo said, “The firearm had 13 live rounds of ammunition, 12 in the magazine and one in the chamber, meaning it was armed ready to shoot at any time.”
He added that the serial number had been filed off. The suspect was detained at Hillbrow police station and was expected to appear at the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on charges of being in possession of an unlicensed firearm and live ammunition. Zondo said the police were investigating whether the gun was reported stolen.
He said, “It will also be taken for ballistic tests to check if the gun was used in other crime incidents. The suspect was not linked to any other crime yet until we get the ballistic tests results.”
