The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) has confirmed that one of the four police officers wounded during the Rosettenville shooting on Monday has died in hospital. Three other officers are still in hospital.
Eight suspects were shot dead during an exchange of fire with police in the south of Johannesburg. One was a former SANDF member.
Ten suspects have since been arrested while seven others are still on the run.
Police stormed a safe house in Rosettenville where the suspects were allegedly planning to commit a cash-in-transit robbery around the Johannesburg area.
When the suspects realised that they were cornered they started shooting at the police including at the police helicopter.
IPID says that it will be investigating if police acted within the law during the shootout between officers and would be cash-in-transit robbers.
IPID spokesperson Grace Langa says that they were tipped off that some police may have been involved in criminal activities.
“If they’re not found having done anything wrong, and they did whatever they did in self defence, it will be indicated as such. So, this is one of the allegations we received last night when we were attending the scene, but then following up on the information, it doesn’t come clear to us. The allegation was that they were part of the criminals which ran from the incident.”
During the shootout, three members of the South African Police Service including an airborne law enforcement officer were shot and wounded when police intercepted the suspects allegedly on their way to commit a cash-in-transit heist robbery.
Police Minister Bheki Cele was at the scene on Monday and spoke to the media:
