The National Commissioner of the South African Police Service, General Khehla John Sitole has condemned the attack on three police members that were shot and injured during a foiled cash in transit heist in Rustenburg, North West province on the evening of 9 May 2019. A security officer and a bystander were also injured during the incident.
The incident occurred at about 18:00 in Watsonia Avenue. It is alleged that the armoured vehicle was rammed off the road by a blue Peugeot and subsequently attacked with explosives whilst the security officers were still inside.
At that stage the police members on patrol responded to the scene and a shootout with the suspects ensued which led to the suspects abandoning the robbery and fleeing the scene empty handed in three vehicles, two bakkies and a sedan.
It was discovered that a member of the community, a 62 year old woman, was struck by a stray bullet. She was rushed to hospital for medical attention. One of the security officers also sustained injuries during the commotion.
While fleeing the scene, the suspects came across a marked police vehicle in Bethlehem Street and fired multiple shots at the vehicle, which resulted in three members sustaining injuries.
Two of the members are reported to be stable whilst the third member was airlifted to a hospital in Johannesburg, Gauteng in a critical condition. The three injured members are attached to Division Operational Response Services in Pretoria.
The 72 Hour Activation Plan which entails mobilising critical resources including members from Crime Intelligence, Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations and seasoned Organised Crime Detectives to hunt down the perpetrators of these heinous crimes has been activated.
South Africa Today – South Africa News
