The Metro Police Department’s Internal Affairs Unit is working closely with the City’s Safety and Security Investigation Unit, SAPS and IPID to establish the facts around the fatal shooting of a suspect in Nyanga on Tuesday night.

Metro Police officers were on patrol on New Eisleben Road just after 22:00, when they spotted a suspicious-looking vehicle with five occupants inside.

The driver sped off, and while in pursuit, some of the occupants started shooting at the officers, who then returned fire.

After the vehicle came to a stop in Nyanga, three suspects fled, while officers apprehended a fourth.

A fifth suspect collapsed on scene – it was then discovered that he had sustained a bullet wound to the head and was declared deceased on scene by paramedics.

Officers recovered two firearms and ammunition – they also confirmed that the vehicle had been reported stolen in Parow in July and had been involved in an attempted hijacking earlier in the day.

The Mayoral Committee Member of Safety and Security, JP Smith, says this is the latest example of the prevalence of illegal firearms and their link to serious and violent crime.

“We reiterate our request that SAPS need to achieve the required crime intelligence to determine where this endless supply of firearms is coming from. We need to shut down the supply, as we know from experience that even arresting the offenders found with the firearms and confiscating the guns does not result in a conviction of the person with the illegal firearm.”