On Thursday afternoon, police officers emerged unharmed while three suspects died on the scene during a shootout incident. The Eastern Cape Minister of Community Safety Xolile Nqatha has commended police for a job well done in a gun battle between police and suspects. The incident happened on the R408 road near Mbewuleni Village between IDutywa and Engcobo.
A vehicle was hijacked in Mthatha and one of the South African Police Service elite units National Intervention Unit (NIU) was tracking the vehicle. The NIU is established to combat serious and violent crimes. It is alleged that the suspects started to fire shots at the police as they were closely approaching them, and then the shootout began.
After the shootout incident, three suspects were dead and one was critical injured and no police or civilian was reported to be injured in the incident. MEC Nqatha said police need to be commended for endangering their lives for fighting against crime.
“I wish to salute the officers for their bravery and dedication in the fight against crime. We are so grateful that there was not even a single officer that was wounded or even a civilian that was caught in the crossfire,” MEC Nqatha.
MEC Nqatha concluded, “It is not our wish to celebrate death of anyone, but in this situation it can only be fair to think that there are possible three less criminals roaming in our streets.”
The fourth suspect who survived gun wounds is still in hospital under police guard and will assist police in their investigation. The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) took over shooting case incident for further scrutiny.
