The aim was to arrest not kill Khayelitsha cash-in-transit suspects - WC top cop Patekile
On Monday evening, 13 would-be robbers got into a bloody shootout with the police in Town Two. Eight of them were killed and five were arrested.
Western Cape Police Commissioner Thembisile Patekile (C) at the IEC's Western Cape results operation centre in Cape Town on 30 May 2024. Picture: Lindsay Dentlinger/Eyewitness News
CAPE TOWN - Western Cape Police Commissioner Thembisile Patekile says the aim was not to kill but to arrest the suspects who were planning a cash-in-transit heist in Khayelitsha.
On Monday evening, 13 would-be robbers got into a bloody shootout with the police in Town Two. Eight of them were killed and five were arrested.
Thirteen firearms, including AK-47s and R5 rifles, lots of ammunition, as well as explosives were found at the crime scene.
The operation has been widely commended.
Patekile said the number of weapons found at the crime scene showed that the suspects were out to cause chaos.
"We're happy with what we've done in arresting those people. Our aim was to arrest them, but when they attacked the police, then we had to defend ourselves using proportionate force to ward off the attack."