Carjacker attempts to steal G20-allocated vehicle along Empire Road
The carjacker was wounded by the South African Police Service’s (SAPS) National Intervention Unit (NIU) as a result of this foiled hijacking attempt.
The brazen carjacker attempted to steal a vehicle allocated to the G20 on November 21.
In a statement, published by SAPS on November 22, they explained that the vehicle was transporting National Intervention Unit (NIU) members, who were conducting patrols in and around Johannesburg.
While conducting patrols along Empire Road, the hijacker jumped onto the road and pointed a firearm at the driver. Unbeknownst to the hijacker, the occupants of the vehicle were NIU members.
A shot was fired by one of the NIU members towards the suspect, resulting in him sustaining a gunshot wound to the upper body.
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He was later taken to the hospital, under police guard, and will appear in court for an attempted hijacking charge when fit to do so.
It was later discovered that the hijacker had used an imitation firearm; however, the statement further went on to explain that a replica firearm is considered a firearm if used in the commission of a crime.
The possession of an imitation firearm, with the intention to commit an offence, such as hijacking, as well as the pointing at a person of anything likely to lead a person to believe that it is a firearm, constitutes an offence, in terms of the Firearms Control Act, 2000 (Act No. 60 of 2000).
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