Hijacker dead after shootout with police
Attempted hijacking of two vehicles endangers children’s lives at missionary school as shots are fired at police armed response.
AFTER a hijacked vehicle ran out of gas during a getaway, the hijackers also ran out of luck.
Three hijacking suspects were stopped in their tracks by Mondeor police as they attempted to steal two vehicles on the morning of October 1 in Eikenhof.
The Isuzu bakkie hadn’t been at the petrol station near Moses Maren Missionary School, long enough to receive gas, when the passengers, Jooste Olwage (25) and his father Hendrik Booysen, were held up by armed men before making off with the vehicle.
However, the suspects failed to make a clean exit as planned, as the hijacked Isuzu bakkie ran out of diesel a few meters away from the scene of the hijacking.
This prompted the suspects to abandon the vehicle when they realised that Jooste, who had managed to get help from a passing motorist, was hot on their heels.
The suspects escaped into the school grounds of Moses Maren, where they came across a woman driving a Toyota Etios at the schools drop-off zone. She was there with her children. Showing a complete disregard for the children’s safety, the armed suspects proceeded to hijack the Toyota Etios, while their getaway car waited nearby.
Mondeor police officers responded to a call for back-up. The Toyota Etios was abandoned as the exit onto Lenasia Road was blocked off by a police vehicle. There was a shoot-out at the school’s drop-off zone and two suspects made off on foot.
A taxi driver pointed the police officers in the direction of the suspects after he saw them running into a field in Nancefield. Another shootout incident took place as the suspects reportedly ran and shot at officers in attempts to escape. One of the suspects was shoot dead by officers and another suspect was caught and arrested. The third suspect is still at large.
Jooste Olwage said he noticed an Audi on Lenasia Road near the petrol station. The Audi was revealed by Mondeor police to have been the getaway vehicle in which one of the suspects escaped.
The victims of the hijacking escaped unharmed during the incident, which happened as they were on their way to purchase material for their business. Amanda Olwage, the hijacking victim’s mother, said that a cellphone and R1 000 were recovered from the bakkie.
Jooste’s family together with his four-year-old daughter arrived at the shooting scene after receiving the news.
The family and members of the public who had stopped to enquire, commended the Mondeor Police on a stellar job in fighting crime and for their quick response.
