Africa-Press – South-Africa. City of Cape Town Mayco member for transport, Roberto Quintas, is grateful that he escaped unharmed from an attempted hijacking that ended in a shootout between his VIP protectors and the attackers.
Quintas was travelling to Phoenix from Joe Slovo after a site visit when the armed assailants shot at the City of Cape Town VIP vehicle in which he was travelling.
He said he was sitting in the front seat alongside one of his protectors when the gunshots went off in Democracy Way.
“The protector said ‘Councillor, get down. Get down.’ I looked out of the window, and two men were running toward our vehicle on the side I was seated on. They were shooting at the vehicle, at which point my VIP driver returned fire and was able to fend off the assailants.”
Quintas said a local security company caught one of the alleged attackers, who was arrested.
He said the man showed the VIP protectors where he threw his firearm.
He added that he didn’t know the motive for the attack. He suspects it was an opportunistic armed robbery attempt.
He said the attack gave him a lived experience of what the City’s contractors and employees experience when working in communities:
Western Cape police spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Malcolm Pojie, said police in Milnerton were investigating an attempted hijacking case.
“The firearm used by the suspect was recovered and handed in as an exhibit. No one else was injured during the ordeal. The suspect has been hospitalised under police guard and will appear in court soon on the mentioned charge. The second suspect is still at large,” he added.
Cape Town’s MMC for Safety and security, JP Smith, said he was relieved VIP protectors prevented the hijacking.
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