[Hey! More gunfights, just like in the movies, with people hanging out of cars shooting at each other. Cool! Wanna go for a drive?

I”m really glad some of the criminals died. I”m sad some of them lived! Another excellent instance of “Justice by Accident” – the only true form of Justice you will find in S.Africa. Thank you GOD – we really appreciated that! Jan]

A foiled robbery left three heavily-armed burglars dead and another three seriously injured following a high-speed chase with security guards and police in Pretoria.

The six, thought to be responsible for a spate of burglaries and armed robberies, were spotted by a security guard fleeing from a Brits liquor store in the early hours of Monday.

Opening fire on the guard, the six fled in a VW minibus racing through oncoming traffic as they tried to make their escape. Several motorists said it had been like the “Wild West” with two of the robbers leaning out of the open door shooting at the guard pursuing them in his vehicle.

The three robbers were killed when the driver lost control of the minibus and it overturned, throwing the occupants from the vehicle as they raced into Van der Hoff Road in Hercules.

“Driving over pavements and into oncoming traffic as they tried to get out of the way”

“One moment I was driving along Van der Hoff Road and the next I was trying to get out of the way of these lunatics as they shot at anyone in their way,” said motorist Jannie du Plessis, who crashed his car while taking evasive action. Sarel de Wet, who was driving just behind the guard, said the shoot-out, chase and crash was like something out of the movies.

“I could see motorists, travelling in front of the combi, driving over pavements and into oncoming traffic as they tried to get out of the way,” he said.

Police Sergeant Johan Sharples said the guard was alerted to the burglary after the robbers triggered an alarm in the liquor store.

He said that as the guard gave chase he contacted the police and alerted them to what was happening.

Sharples said three of the robbers were killed instantly in the accident, while the other three were seriously injured. “The injured robbers are in hospital where they are under police guard,” he said.

This article was originally published on page 1 of Pretoria News on June 21, 2005