Suspected hijacker gunned down in shoot-out with officers

A shoot-out occurred in Kiepersol on Tuesday when a suspected hijacker was cornered by Hi-Tech officers and killed.

The man involved in the shoot-out is suspected to have hijacked a Toyota bakkie in White River earlier that day, said Col Donald Mdhluli, a provincial spokesperson for the police.

After having allegedly hijacked the bakkie, the suspect was chased by Hi-Tech officers as well as farmers in the area, said Callum mac Pherson of Hi-Tech Nelspruit.

ALSO READ: Vehicle hijacked on R40, police on scene

Mac Pherson said the suspect further attempted to hijack another vehicle, a VW Polo, by forcing its driver off the road. This is when Hi-Tech managed to reach the suspect and the shoot-out began.

The suspect went down on the scene. Mdhluli confirmed that the man was fatally shot.

“Circumstances surrounding the two (hijacking) incidents are being investigated and a firearm was discovered on the scene.”

The police in Hazyview are currently probing the incident. Both the bakkie and the Polo were also found there by the police when they arrived. Mdhluli said they were taking statements from the security officers as well as the driver of the Polo.

ALSO READ: CIT heist believed to have closed Schoemanskloof

Mac Pherson said they have recently seen an increase in hijackings and other violent crimes. “Compared to the rest of the country, we do not have many hijackings, but one is one too many.”

Comparing the past three years, he said there had been a surge in hijackings in 2019, while the incidents had decreased in 2020. Lately there has been an increase yet again.

Do you have more information about the story?

Please send us an email to editorial@lowvelder.co.za.

For free breaking and community news, visit Lowvelder’s website: Lowvelder

For more news and interesting articles, like Lowvelder on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram