Eight dead, officers critical after wild shoot-out near South Rand Hospital

Multiple suspects were killed and some police officers critically injured on Monday afternoon in what paramedics described as a hostage drama unfolding on the South Rand in Johannesburg.

According to Blue Hawk Tactical, a protection service in Johannesburg, at least five suspects were killed in a gun battle in Rosettenville. ER24 said in an update that eight people had been killed and four law-enforcement officers had been injured.

This after a police helicopter pursuing the suspects took fire. Police minister Bheki Cele, who went to the scene, told eNCA a heavily armed cash-in-transit gang had shot at the helicopter and injured one or more people on board.

Cele described the suspects, armed with AK-47 rifles, as “heartless people who are prepared to kill”. He said some of them were from KwaZulu-Natal, Zimbabwe and Botswana. He said the gang numbered about 25 in total. They  were using high-performance vehicles which had been hijacked.

Footage of the incident seen on social media showed a police helicopter circling the area with the door open as gunshots rang out.

ER24 spokesperson Russel Meiring said: “Medics found a man lying in the road while two other men were found in a light motor vehicle. Five other men were found in the nearby premises. All eight men were assessed and found to have succumbed to their numerous gunshot wounds. Nothing could be done for them, and they were declared dead.

“Four law enforcement officers had already been taken across the road to South Rand Hospital for urgent treatment. Once stabilised, two men were airlifted by private medical helicopters to another private hospital while another officer was transported by ambulance. The fourth officer went privately to a nearby hospital.”

Warning: strong language in the video clip below.

Netcare 911 spokesperson Shawn Herbst told TimesLIVE on Monday afternoon that just after 4pm Netcare 911 received calls of a shooting about a block away from the South Rand Hospital. “Our medics responded and when they arrived they were taken to an area where two policemen had been shot at,” Herbst said.

He said two Netcare 911 helicopters were sent to the scene. “We flew to the scene. They [medics] landed a safe distance away from where the shooting was taking place.

“The two critically injured patients, both adult males, have been flown to specialist facilities in the Joburg region,” said Herbst.

TimesLIVE