Bullets fly as police chase gunmen
Durban24042013 Sgt Stephen Clark from Westville SAPS points at one of the bullett holes in the car which was envolved in a car chase from Pietermaritzburg and Durban last night.Picture:Marilyn Bernard Durban24042013 Sgt Stephen Clark from Westville SAPS points at one of the bullett holes in the car which was envolved in a car chase from Pietermaritzburg and Durban last night.Picture:Marilyn Bernard
Durban - Motorists and pedestrians had to dive for cover when a car chase that started in Pietermaritzburg was picked up in Pinetown, continued on the N3 near Westville and eventually ended in Chesterville.
In spite of the robbers shooting wildly and police returning fire on Tuesday night, no one was injured. The men eventually crashed the stolen Mercedes-Benz C300 before escaping into the shacklands.
Police dogs leading the chase had to be called off when they lost the scent.
The drama started when four men held up Viz Anees Mohamed, 27, who was returning to his Shelly Crescent home in Pietermaritzburg with an unnamed friend, Pietermaritzburg police spokesperson Joey Jeevan said.
The gang demanded to know where the safe was in his house. When they found there was no safe, they took the men’s cellphones, wallets, watches and cash.
They then grabbed the keys of Mohamed’s car, loaded the loot and took off.
Mohamed ran to a neighbour’s house and alerted the police.
The gang evaded Pietermaritzburg police, who then alerted their Durban colleagues to look out for the speeding car on the N3.
The police’s dog unit and the eThekwini metro police dog unit saw the car at 8pm. The driver was ignoring road signs and speeding through Pinetown.
Westville police spokesperson Stephen Clark said the chase was on, with the gang racing towards The Pavilion shopping centre.
It was then that bullets started to fly as the robbers leaned out of the car’s windows, shooting at the pursuing police cars.
Sirens wailed and police fired back, shattering the car’s rear window. The gang ducked and sped on. By then a police helicopter was involved, circling the area and trying to keep track of the desperate men.
“The gunfire continued until the driver of the Mercedes lost control and crashed into another car in Chesterville,” said Clark.
The four men jumped out and ran away.
Police followed with dogs, but by then the gang had disappeared into the crowd.
The Mercedes-Benz, riddled with bullet holes, is at the Westville police station where detectives were dusting it for fingerprints on Wednesday.
The robbers are still at large. - The Mercury