Shoot-out kills 8: Where did they get the guns?

How did seven AK-47s, two R5 rifles, one R4 rifle and other guns, improvised explosive charges and numerous magazines of ammo land in the hands of the suspected cash-in-transit robbers slain in a shoot-out with police in Khayelitsha this week?

That's the question Premier Alan Winde wants answered after police confronted the suspects in Town Two on Monday night, shooting eight of them dead in a gunfight and arresting a further five.

“We must determine where they got their hands on these weapons,” he said in a statement.

Provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Novela Potelwa said officers had been tipped off that the suspects were planning a cash-in-transit robbery.

"As the team approached the suspects, the would-be robbers started firing shots at police who retaliated,“ she said.

“Authorities seized a number of weapons, including seven AK-47 rifles, two R5 rifles, one R4 rifle, one Dashprod rifle, two 9mm pistols and three improvised explosive charges, along with numerous ammunition magazines.”

A woman who lives nearby, who did not want to give her name, said she had told her children to lie down when the shooting started.

They had all been left shaken, she said, but she praised the police for showing no mercy to “criminals who are making our lives a living hell” and for not hurting any innocent civilians.

Ward councillor Ryder Mkhutswana said he had heard gunfire while in a meeting and had been shocked to learn about the shoot-out with the police. He urged them to tighten their grip on criminals to protect the rule of law.

Hawks provincial spokesperson Warrant officer Zinzi Hani said five suspects would appear in the Khayelitsha Magistrate’s Court today, Thursday August 8, on charges of illegal possession of prohibited firearms, ammunition and explosives.

Both Mr Winde and Police Oversight and Community Safety MEC Anroux Marais welcomed the swift action by the police to prevent a cash-in-transit robbery.

“I am very grateful no police officers or innocent members of the public were harmed while conducting this operation. This is proof that when coordinated, intelligence, and evidence-based policing are implemented, violent crime can be prevented, and we can make inroads in our efforts to fight crime,” Mr Winde said in a statement.

“However, I am deeply concerned about the calibre of weaponry the suspects were allegedly armed with. I shudder to think of the bloodshed that would have been caused had they been used in our communities. I implore the SAPS to prioritise its investigation to determine exactly where these weapons originated from. We must work closer together and do everything possible to take all illegal weapons off our streets to make our communities safer.”

He added: “Organised crime syndicates have been warned: your reign of terror over innocent, law-abiding residents must end.”

Ms Marais praised the police for what she describe as a “well-planned and executed operation”.

She added: “The arms and ammunition confiscated will no longer be used to terrorise our people. I trust that the suspects who were taken into custody will be able to provide further information which will assist detectives in their probe.”