Eersterust police arrest shooting suspect near primary school
“All of a sudden, we heard shots being fired. It must have been around 13 shots.”
Eersterust police arrested a man in his early 30s for attempted murder and unlawful possession of a firearm on Wednesday, December 1, just after 11:00. The police received a call that there was a shooting incident in progress in the park on the corners of John Sydney Drive and Hans Coverdale Road East in Eersterust.
Upon arrival they found a man lying on the ground with a bullet wound to his thigh, according to Eersterust police spokesperson Sergeant Sam Shibambo.
“The man managed to give the police the name and the description of his shooter before he was taken to hospital,” said Shibambo. Armed with the full description of the perpetrator, the police alerted law enforcement vehicles in the area to be on the lookout for the suspect. “Less than five minutes later, the suspect (also in his 30s) was spotted near Fred Margadie primary school still brandishing the firearm. “The police managed to arrest him.
According to police, the suspect had an injured leg and he had to be treated at the scene before being taken to a nearby hospital. It was unclear whether he was injured during his arrest or beforehand. “His firearm was seized by the police and it will be sent to the forensic science lab for further investigation.”
Meanwhile, the suspect will appear in the Pretoria regional court in due course on charges of attempted murder and unlawful possession of a firearm. Shibambo said that at this stage it was still unclear what led to the shooting incident. “We are investigating as to what exactly happened,” he added.
Eyewitnesses, said they waited outside the school to fetch children. “All of a sudden, we heard shots being fired.
It must have been around 13 shots. “After the shots, we heard police sirens and saw the suspect running towards the school,” the eye witness explained.
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