Cops, on their way to shooting range, take on hijackers

Johannesburg - A hijacker was shot dead in a shoot-out with police in Eikenhof, Johannesburg, police said on Wednesday.

A revolver and a toy gun were seized by police, Lieutenant Colonel Lungelo Dlamini said.

Three people hijacked an Isuzu vehicle at gunpoint. They later abandoned the van after they experienced problems with it, he said.

The hijackers fled and a shoot-out ensued between them and police officers who were on their way to a shooting range.

They tried to hijack a vehicle from a teacher at a nearby school, but fled on foot after they drove into a cul-de-sac.

A second shoot-out ensued with police. One hijacker was fatally shot and another arrested. The third drove away in a white Audi.

Two cases of hijacking and two of attempted murder were being investigated.

The arrested suspect would appear in the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court within 48 hours, Dlamini said.