Captain Kay reported that "The
hijacked vehicle was spotted and the officers followed it. The men noticed that
police were chasing them and jumped out of the vehicle in Nasrec Road," The gang then went ahead and tried to hijack another car in the vicinity.
"When
they attempted to hijack a Toyota Fortuner, the vehicle owner was shot.
They then left that vehicle and hijacked a Nissan bakkie, in which they
attempted to escape." The motorist was taken to a nearby hospital where he was declared dead.
As the shootout ensued, police pursued the vehicle. Two of the gang members were shot dead, and the rest of the hijackers escaped on foot. Among the recovered vehicles were a stolen VW Passat, which appeared to have been escorting the stolen minibus. A rifle and handgun were discovered in the recovered vehicles.
News reports stated that an accident involving about four vehicles occurred during the chase. A policeman was also hit during the shootout with the gang. He suffered minor injuries. Makhubela urged anyone with information on the whereabouts of the gang to inform the authorities.
