A shoot-out with police took place when the driver of a minibus taxi refused to pull over in Philippi.
|||Cape Town - A shoot-out with police took place when the driver of a minibus taxi refused to pull over in Philippi.
At 3.45am yesterday police officers signalled the minibus taxi to pull over near the bus depot in Philippi East.
The taxi driver, however, attempted to flee and passengers opened fire on the officers, according to provincial police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel André Traut.
“Police returned fire and after a pursuit the vehicle was stopped,” he said.
He said one of the occupants of the taxi was wounded during the shoot-out. Four others were arrested as they attempted to flee. Five other occupants were also taken in, but were later released.
“The circumstances are being investigated and their motive for shooting at the police still needs to be determined,” Traut said.
Meanwhile, three people were arrested for being in possession of an illegal firearm in Johndown Walk in Hanover Park.
Around midnight on Saturday the three suspectswere searched by officers on patrol in the area, according to the police.
They were found with a 9mm Z88 firearm in their possession. The firearm’s serial number had been filed off. Sources said it was believed to be a police firearm, but Traut said that the ownership of the weapon was yet to be determined.
The three suspects were detained and are expected to appear in court today.
Cape Argus