EIKENHOF – The getaway vehicle driver involved in the attempted hijacking incident that happened on the morning of October 1 in Eikenhof is behind bars at Mondeor Police Station.
The suspect, who must have thought he was home free, was successfully located by the Mondeor Tracing Unit on the very day he escaped arrest.
Mondeor SAPS Communications Officer Constable Sibongile Mnguni revealed that the suspect was arrested at 17:30 in Diepkloof, Soweto.
Five charges have been brought against the surviving suspects, including attempted murder, two counts of hijacking, illegal possession of an unlicensed firearm, illegal possession of unlicensed ammunition and illegal possession of a dangerous weapon.
Three hijacking suspects were stopped in their tracks by Mondeor police as they attempted to steal two vehicles, one at a petrol station and another at Moses Maren Missionary School.
One of the suspects was shot dead by a Mondeor Tracing Unit officer in a veld as they tried to escape. The suspect was shot during a shootout with police, while his accomplice was captured and later arrested.
The getaway vehicle driver had been scouting the area nearby in an Audi, and managed to speed off when Mondeor police officers halted their hijacking plans.
An Isuzu bakkie was at a petrol station near Moses Maren Missionary School about to fill up 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 from the hijacking scene. This was when the two suspects attempted to make a run for it on foot.
According to officers at the scene of the shooting, the two suspects were both armed and were shooting at officers as they ran.
