Watch: ‘Wild West’ gunfight in Kempton Park – five armed robbers shot dead by SAPS

Bullets ripped through a Kempton Park suburb on Tuesday, after a gang of armed robbers were gunned down by police officers. The group got embroiled high-speed chase before being tremendously outnumbered by law officials, and once the suspects opened fire, SAPS responded with their own devastating lethal force.

Shootout with a gang of #CITRobbery suspects – they fled from Kempton Park towards Benoni along Great North Road and a nearby suburb. Heavy shooting. Reports says some of the criminals have been shot dead. pic.twitter.com/jtE2mJqYIE

— Yusuf Abramjee (@Abramjee) December 8, 2020

Kempton Park shootout – latest updates and death toll

Grant Giblin is a local Warrant Officer and security expert. He explained that a total of five suspects had been killed in the gunfight, with three being shot during the high-speed chase – the remaining pair were slain at the scene.

“A shootout took place down Great North Road between the BFS, Kempton SAPS, the EMPD, and the suspects in the Polo until the vehicle came to a standstill at the corner of Beech and Kanna streets near Kempton Park. Five suspects are dead. Three were shot on Beech Street following a high-speed case, and the other two suspects were killed at the scene.”

BFS spokesperson Warrant Officer Grant Giblin

Watch police open fire on Kempton Park armed robbers here:

08/12/2020
KEMPTONPARK.
DANN RD ARMED ROBBERS END CHASE. WHEN CRIMINALS NEAR THEIR END AND KNOW IT IS OVER. GREAT WORK DONE BY SAPS & EMPD!!!! pic.twitter.com/fsTkdJ52LI

— RIOT & ATTACK info South Africa (@RiotAndAttackSA) December 8, 2020

This is what they left in kempton park pic.twitter.com/MNJRnGY6hj

— Paris Vukosi Chauke (@VukosiParis) December 8, 2020

Was this a cash-in-transit crime?

There has been some confusion over whether this was an attempt to commit a cash-in-transit heist. Although the targeted vehicle isn’t a traditional security van, it was – allegedly – transporting a large sum of money on behalf of the local taxi industry. Preliminary investigations are ongoing, but this is a grey area police are keen to clear-up.

No law enforcement representatives or innocent civilians were harmed during the Kempton Park shootout. Despite the unavoidable death toll, SAPS can consider this heart-stopping operation a success.