Blood on the floor and rooms tell tale of fierce gun battle in Rosettenville

A wall riddled with bullet holes, and police markings of cartridges on the ground, were all that remained outside the house where a gun-toting gang ran to when they were being ambushed by police in what neighbours said resembled a scene from a Hollywood movie.

The horrific scene played itself out in The Hill, next to Rosettenville, southern Johannesburg, on Monday afternoon.

Blood-stained floors greeted Sowetan journalists as they walked into one of the houses which had been under construction when the gang sought refuge in it with the police on their tails. The white ceiling was splattered with blood. Every other room in the unfinished house had puddles of blood on the floor and on the walls.

This was the aftermath of the gun battle that took place between police and the alleged cash-in-transit robbers which shook the country.

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The gang is believed to have been renting a house which has other units inside its yard. Theirs has the highest walls in the entire neighbourhood, according to security companies working in the area.

One of the neighbours told Sowetan the shoot-out took place between 4pm and 6pm.

“It was like a movie, it was worse than anything that I have ever seen. I was in the house with my wife and children at that time. We heard gunshots from automatic rifles. They went on for a long time,” he said.

“I grabbed my wife and children and we lay down for the entire time. We could hear bullets hitting our walls but we stayed down to survive. My car was hit and there is a bullet hole on my gate. I was in the military for 22 years, but I have never seen something like this. The only thing that can be compared to this is what I saw when Americans attacked Afghanistan.”

While the man was on the floor with his wife, security guards from the nearby St Martin's School ran for cover and hid in one of the rooms.

“I tried to look over the fence to see what was happening but the sounds of the guns was nothing I've heard. I then retreated and hid because I knew I could be shot. As we sat inside, we witnessed a police helicopter come and the robbers fired at it. It [the helicopter] then left. Another one came later,” the guard said.

The school was still closed on Tuesday as police officers continued to mop the scene.

Another neighbour who identified herself only as Boitumelo said she arrived home from the clinic to fetch her ID.

“I heard the helicopter hovering over my roof. It was so loud, I actually thought it had landed on my roof. I checked by the window. I saw police asking my neighbour to open and afterwards I started hearing gunshots,” Boitumelo said.

“I was scared... I want to leave this neighbourhood. I moved here eight months ago but I think I have seen enough,” she said.

Police said eight heist suspects were killed on the scene and eight others injured during a heavy gunfire exchange. A total of 10 suspects were arrested, two of whom are in hospital.

Police seized 10 high-performance vehicles from the suspects' yard, six AK-47 machine guns, three rifles as well as explosives. Three officers were injured in the gunfight which included one member of the Airborne Law Enforcement Services, two from Moffatview police station and a Johannesburg Metro Police Department officer.

The Hill is the same neighbourhood where the killers of senior Gauteng health official Babita Deokaran were found.

A man who was driving out of the yard who had been identified as the owner of the property that was a hideout for the robbers refused to comment.

“I’m not the owner. The owners are not here. This issue is being investigated by police. I cannot comment,” he said.