Two suspects arrested after hijacking and high-speed chase in Durban
|Published
Durban — Two suspects will appear in the Durban Magistrate’s Court following a carjacking and attempted murder incident in Durban, on Monday.
Police arrested the two suspects after a hijacking, high-speed chase and shooting incident on Old North Coast Road.
KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said that police were following up on information of a carjacking incident in Phoenix on Monday morning.
Two suspects hijacked a 29-year-old man outside his home on Westham Drive in Phoenix
“The police spotted the vehicle along Old North Coast Road with two occupants and ordered them to stop. They drove off while shooting at the police. The police returned fire resulting in the suspects losing control of the vehicle which collided with the steel barrier on the side of the road. Both suspects alighted from their vehicle and fled the scene on foot. Police, together with other law enforcement gave chase and managed to apprehend both suspects,” Netshiunda said.
“One suspect sustained a gunshot wound on the right thigh while the other was unharmed. They will appear in Durban Magistrate’s Court soon.”
Elaborating, Empire Protection Services spokesperson Christopher Chanderpal said information about a hijacked vehicle was relayed to Empire Protection Service’s Anti-Hijacking Unit for a white Renault Kwid which was hijacked on Westham Drive in Phoenix by two armed suspects.
Chanderpal said the vehicle, fitted with a tracking device, was moving and tracked by the SAPS Police Emergency Services (PES), Empire Protection Service, Recovery Agents and other private security companies to the Old North Coast Road area.
He said a vehicle matching the same description was seen on Old North Coast Road. Members of the SAPS PES then engaged it to stop, but the suspects sped off, and a high-speed chase ensued.
“A gunshot was fired towards a SAPS member, leading to their retaliation, which caused the vehicle to crash into a fence at the intersection of Chris Hani Road,” Chanderpal said.
“The suspects then jumped off and continued firing shots which forced members of law enforcement to retaliate and return gunfire in the direction of the suspects. The suspects fled in different directions; a chase on foot was given and both suspects were apprehended. One suspect sustained a gunshot wound to the right thigh. All emergency services were on scene and the wounded suspect was taken to hospital as the second suspect sustained no injuries and was dealt with accordingly.”
Chanderpal said no public and law enforcement members sustained injuries.
He added that a firearm was found at the scene.
ALS Paramedics spokesperson Garrith Jamieson said the emergency service responded to an active crime scene where it is alleged that SAPS were chasing alleged suspects which then crashed and a gunfight ensued.
Jamieson said paramedics treated one suspect for a gunshot wound to the lower body.
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