Summary:
- Five suspected bank robbers, aged 25 to 35, died in a shootout with law enforcement on the N14 Ventersdorp Highway in Gauteng after they refused to pull over, opened fire on the police, and were linked to criminal cases in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and Gauteng.
Five suspected bank robbers died in a shootout with law enforcement in Gauteng on Monday afternoon.
Gauteng spokesperson for the Hawks, Colonel Katlego Mogale, said a joint team, which included the Hawks Tactical Operations Management Section and the Gauteng Traffic Saturation Unit, responded to intelligence information about a planned bank robbery.
Mogale said the team spotted the suspected robbers, in a silver-grey Toyota and white VW Polo, driving in the vicinity of several banks.
They were tailed by the police, after which they were instructed to pull over. However, they refused and opened fire on the police.
Mogale said the incident happened on the N14 Ventersdorp Highway.
Mogale said:
In the ensuing shootout, five of the suspects, between 25 and 35, were fatally wounded, and a female suspect was arrested.
Law enforcement linked both vehicles to three criminal cases in Groblersdal in Limpopo, Secunda in Mpumalanga, and Hercules in Gauteng.
