Man arrested shortly after hijacking and shooting of motorist

A 26-YEAR-OLD man was arrested after allegedly hijacking a motorist with three accomplices at St George’s Strand in Port Elizabeth yesterday. The motorist was wounded in the incident The arrest came after the Flying Squad and K9 unit tracked down and arrested the suspect within minutes of the incident.

Police spokesman Captain Andre Beetge said the driver of the VW Polo was hijacked while parked at St George’s Strand beach at about 2am.

“The hijackers allegedly drove around with the man inside the car before shooting him in the upper body when he attempted to escape.

“They fled the scene in the car while the injured driver managed to alert police,” Beetge said.

Within 30 minutes of the hijacking, the Polo was spotted parked outside a block of flats in Gould Street, Sidwell.

“Police moved in to check the vehicle. As they stopped behind the car, four men jumped out and fled the scene,” he said.

“A foot chase ensued and the men fled into a nearby block of flats.” One of the men was arrested a short while later. Police also searched a flat into which one of the suspects had run.

They found a shirt which one of the suspects had been wearing, as well as a toy gun and a knife which were stashed behind a fire extinguisher.

The shirt, gun and knife were being sent for forensic testing. The hijacked car has been impounded by police. Beetge said the owner of the car was recovering in hospital.

The detained man will appear in the Motherwell Magistrate’s Court today on charges of hijacking.

The other three suspects are still at large.