A suspect in his thirties has been arrested for an attempted hijacking along the N2 road in Butterworth on 14 June 2017 at about 17:20. It is alleged that three suspects stopped a bakkie pretending to be hitch hiking.
The 33-year-old driver stopped and offered them a lift, but all of them insisted to sit at the back of the double cab bakkie. Once they were inside, one of the suspects drew his firearm and pointed it to the owner. The driver pretended to be surrendering and withdrew his licensed firearm and shot the three hijackers. They ran away towards the forest.
One suspect was arrested and taken to hospital for medical attention and is under police guard. It is reported that the injured suspect is a wanted suspect for a house robbery case reported at Msobomvu Police Station. Possibility of linking the suspect(s) to other cases cannot be ruled out. The injured suspect will appear in court once he is medically fit and will face charges of attempted car hijacking and two house robberies.
One suspect who is yet to be identified was fatally wounded and his body was discovered in the forest. The other suspect is still on the run and the East London K9 Unit and Butterworth police have resumed looking for the suspect in the forest.
The 33-year old man has been charged for murder and attempted murder.
“A stern warning is issued to all drivers who are tempted to be good Samaritans and offer hitch hikers lifts on the road sides to think again before doing so, as they may endanger themselves while trying to help”, said Brigadier Trevor Mey, Butterworth Cluster Commander.
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