According to information received from Brakpan police, the trio, two of which were armed with guns, attacked two other men in the veld, near Oval Road, in Brakpan North at about 8.45am.

“Two men, the 54-year-old deceased and a 50-year-old, were buying scrap metal when the three men held them up,” said Capt Joep Joubert, spokesperson for the Brakpan police station commander.

“They pistol-whipped the deceased and one shot was fired, fatally wounding him.”

Joubert told the Herald that the suspects then fled in the victim’s car, a white Opel Corsa bakkie, and took two cellphones and cash.

Less than two hours later, at 10.30am, members of the Brakpan Anti-Hijacking Team spotted the bakkie in a veld, in Kingsway, Benoni.

“There were two male occupants on the back of the bakkie and two inside,” said Joubert.

“When the suspects saw the police vehicle, the driver of the bakkie fired shots and the police members returned fire.”

One suspect, aged between 25 and 30 years old, was wounded in the stomach, while the other three fled the scene on foot.

The wounded man, who was admitted to a local hospital under police guard, faces charges of murder and hijacking.