One suspect was fatally wounded, two critically wounded and six slightly injured when they exchanged fire with the police in Kriel, Mpumalanga on Sunday.
The Tactical Operations Management Section (TOMS) of the DPCI had received information about a hijacked BMW and using the tracker, the Hawks members followed the vehicle and found it parked at a house in Kriel.
Before they could enter the yard, the men of law were greeted with a hail of bullets and a shoot-out ensured. With Special Task Force, Organised Crime, National Investigative Unit, Gauteng Flying Squad, the local police coming as backup, the suspects were overpowered. One Hawks member was shot on the shoulder and is currently at the hospital in a stable condition.
During a search at the house police confiscated SANDF bullet proofs, commercial explosives, one R5 rifle, one R1 rifle, two R4 rifles, one AK 47s, one 9mm pistol, one LM rifle, three stolen BMWs, one stolen Isuzu bakkie (pickup-truck) and one Chrysler Voyager. The search of the suspect’s house is still continuing.
The suspects, aged between 25 and 38 years, will appear before the Kriel Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday on charges of attempted murder, car hijacking and possession of unlicensed firearms.
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