Criminals dressed in South African police uniforms attempted to hijack a black BMW X5 Thursday outside a nursery school in Pretoria. The attempted hijacking, caught on several amateur videos, ended with a dramatic chase and shootout, but the criminals are still on the loose. One of the videos, included above, is going viral on YouTube with over 550,000 views in just two days.
With smash-and-grab and hijacking incidents continuing in South Africa, criminals are getting more inventive. These guys were dressed in fake police uniforms, in an attempt to steal a luxury vehicle.
IOL News reports that there was apparently a group of four or five people involved in the incident. The incident occurred outside a Pretoria nursery school , apparently at a time when parents were dropping their children off at the school.
They pulled up near the corner of Rubenstein and Helois Roads in Moreleta Park in a white BMW coupé, and were seen to be pulling over the BMW X5 to the side of the road.
In the video, a man can be seen struggling with a woman. He then throws her to the ground and drags her into the X5. This is followed by another man jumping out of the white vehicle and fleeing. Shortly after this, the woman, apparently escaping from the fake police officers, runs towards the camera. She and other victims in the hijack attempt were apparently of Chinese nationality, according to a voice on the video above.
The Citizen newspaper in South Africa tweeted that the criminals were actually attempting to hijack the woman herself.
VIDEO: Bogus police hijacks woman in Moreleta Park, Pretoria http://t.co/colWidzoCw pic.twitter.com/6lfmwEWrYu
— The Citizen News (@TheCitizen_News) January 22, 2015
The Security notes the criminals then abandoned the BMW X5 on the side of the road, jumped into their own vehicle, and sped away.
In the above video, we hear a woman reporting the crime to the police. According to Gauteng, South Africa police spokeswoman Lieutenant-Colonel Katlego Mogale, shortly after this, the criminals were spotted by real police officers and a chase began.
Mogale said Pretoria crime intelligence officers spotted the criminals as they were fleeing and weaving through the traffic and took chase after them. This then became a high-speed chase, with suspects firing shots at the police officers, who then returned the fire. The chase ended in Olifantsfontein, where apparently a shootout ensued.
I just saw the hijacking at Moreleta park ? we are not safe in South Africa. The reason why I want to get a gun.
— Ayana’s mommy (@Nokubonga_hlubi) January 23, 2015
In the meantime, eyewitnesses to the incident reportedly needed treatment for shock by Netcare 911 paramedics. Fortunately, no one was injured. Another video of the incident is included below, captured by one of the witnesses.
Mogale continued by saying the hijackers had jumped out of their car and had fled on foot. On searching the vehicle, officers found various police gear, including a uniform, a bulletproof reflector jacket, unlicensed firearms, and R5 rifles, along with 74 rounds of ammunition.
Police are continuing with their investigations and have launched an intensive search for the hijackers.
In other recent news about South Africa, the Inquisitr reported on the case of a smash-and-grab crime caught on camera on a highway in Johannesburg, where an individual smashed a car window and launched himself through into the car.
