Video of Nelson Mandela Bay Cops’ Heavy Gunfight With Thugs Goes Viral

• Unafraid onlookers filmed a heavy gunfight between Nelson Mandela Bay police and a group of criminals
• The person filming can be heard with several others excitedly narrating throughout the 11-second clip
• Bay police spokesperson Captain Andre Beetge to Briefly News the incident happened on 9 December 2024
• The Hawks' Warrant Officer Ndiphiwe Mhlakuvana told Briefly News the shootout followed a CIT heist

GQEBERHA — Residents got a front-row seat to a police shootout as it unfolded in Nelson Mandela Bay in the Eastern Cape.

The adrenalin-pumping video showed the police catching up to the suspects in a Gqeberha township and a heavy exchange of gunfire ensuing.

Cops' gunfight with thugs goes viral

The @VehicleTrackerz X page posted the clip of the chaotic scenes as a squad of cop cars pulled into the area near an open veld.

Shacks are visible in the background as the vehicles arrive hastily.

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Doors fly open, and successive gunfire is heard. The person filming can be heard narrating the unfolding battle.

"Yhoo, zisukile! Ziyaphindisela, ziyaphindisela!! (They [suspects] are firing back)."

A second person is heard saying:

"Zipholile azibaleki ... zisukile eBayi! (the tsotsis are calm and relaxed. It's all happening in the Bay)."

As the action heats up, numerous bodies run in different directions in an open field. At the same time, the onlookers note the suspects were shooting rifles.

The video, posted on Thursday, 12 December 2024, also shows a car and an Algoa bus, which operates in Gqeberha, driving past on the tar road.

As if oblivious to the unfolding action, several people also pass on foot.

Those narrating then noted that the cops had changed tactics, opting to lay on their stomachs on the ground while still firing at the perpetrators.

Since it was posted at 12.51pm on Thursday, 12 December 2024, the clip has attracted over 323,000 views.

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Nelson Mandela Bay police spokesperson Captain Andre Beetge confirmed to Briefly News that the incident happened on 9 December as cops were hot on the heels of cash-in-transit (CIT) robbery suspects.

He said the shootout happened in Salamntu Street in Kwazakhele.

Eastern Cape Hawks spokesperson Warrant Officer Ndiphiwe Mhlakuvana detailed the events that resulted in the shootout to Briefly News.

He said an unknown number of suspects ambushed a G4S cash van at about 4.20pm at a Sasol garage on the M17 near Motherwell en route to KwaZakhele.

"They took an undisclosed amount of cash, of which there was a partial recovery following the incident," said Mhlakuvana.

"Police arrested six suspects, who used two vehicles — both white bakkies — one of which managed to get away and was later found abandoned.

"Six suspects were involved in the shootout with police, during which four perpetrators sustained injuries. They were arrested and taken to hospital for treatment," added Mhlakuvana.

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He said no police were injured, while an unknown number of suspects escaped.

Police recovered five rifles, two pistols and a few money bags. Five suspects appeared in the Motherwell Magistrate's Court on Wednesday, 11 December, facing CIT robbery and attempted murder charges.

"One suspect appeared in absentia [due to still being in hospital]. The matter was remanded to 19 December for legal representation. They have been remanded in custody."

Over 120 thugs laid down in shootouts

In related news, Briefly News reported that over 120 suspected criminals have been shot and killed in gunfights with police in the past 12 months, bringing KwaZulu-Natal law enforcement's battle against crime to an apex.

It comes after the province's resolute commissioner, Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, declared a combative stand against rampant crime.

Source: Briefly News