Hijackers die in shootout

2003-08-17 13:33

Johannesburg - A man has been critically injured following a hijacking attempt that left two out of four hijackers dead following a high-speed chase and shoot-out with police, Soweto police said on Sunday.

Of the remaining hijackers, one was arrested while another escaped on foot following Friday's incident, said Captain Mbazima Shiburi.

He said police who were patrolling in Dobsonville, Soweto, picked up a tracker signal which lead them to a Toyota minibus that had been hijacked a few hours earlier on the East Rand.

The minibus was surrounded by four men who, on noticing the police, attempted to flee in different directions. Two of them fled on foot, while the other two fled in a Toyota that police suspect was also stolen, Shiburi said.

He said police chased the two on foot, shot one of them in the leg and then attempted to arrest him. The injured man, however, continued firing at the authorities who eventually shot him in the head.

He died while his accomplice escaped.

Meanwhile, another police team on a high-speed chase after the two alleged hijackers in the Toyota also came under fire, Shiburi said. He said they returned fire, fatally shooting one of the men they attempted to arrest.

The other man was arrested and taken to hospital after wounded in the shoulder.

- SAPA