(Photo: SAPS)
Four men were shot dead in Khayelitsha on Wednesday evening during a confrontation with the police, after they allegedly extorted businesses in the area.
Brig. Novela Potelwa, police spokesperson, says members of the provincial special task team responded to information and tracked down the suspects.
“The officers noticed a vehicle whose occupants matched the description of the suspects. The vehicle was followed, after which members tried to intercept it on Japhta K Masemola Road.”
However, according to Potelwa, the occupants took out their firearms and pointed them at the police.
“The team responded, after which four men – who have not yet been identified – were fatally wounded.”
According to Potelwa, the police also confiscated three firearms that were believed to have belonged to the deceased.
The shooting incident is now being investigated by the Independent Police Investigation Directorate (Opod).
Potelwa emphasized that the circumstances surrounding the deadly confrontation will be independently reviewed.
“The identity of the four men has not yet been made public and the investigation continues.”
This incident comes after the police in KwaZulu-Natal shot dead four suspects linked to a series of violent crimes on Tuesday.
Four armed robbers were also shot dead in an intelligence-driven operation in Yeoville on Wednesday morning.