Johannesburg – A suspected hijacker was shot dead in a shoot-out with police in Hillcrest, near Durban, KwaZulu-Natal police said on Wednesday.

Police spokesperson Jay Naicker said police received a report about a hijacking around 19:30 on Tuesday.

They later saw a car fitting the description and tried to pull it over.

“When police attempted to pull over the vehicle the suspects sped off with police giving chase,” he said.

“As the suspects were fleeing they lost control of the vehicle and crashed. It is alleged that they then opened fire at the police and police returned fire.”

One of the men in the car was shot dead while two others escaped.

Provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Mmamonnye Ngobeni welcomed the “swift reaction” by police.

“Had police not stopped these thugs in their tracks they would have caused further harm to innocent members of the community.”

– SAPA