Bloody SA shootout fans new crime fears

JOHANNESBURG – The deaths of eight alleged gang members and four policemen in a bloody South African shootout raised fresh fears of unbridled violence yesterday despite government vows to bring crime rates down.

Sunday’s gun battle, which shocked even crime-weary South Africans, erupted after police followed suspects back to a house following a robbery at a Johannesburg area supermarket and were met with a hail of gunfire. Police spokesman Inspector Dennis Adriao said 11 surviving suspects from the shootout in a residential area near central Johannesburg would appear in court today.”They will face a number of charges, first and foremost murder,” Adriao said.Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula, who sparked widespread outrage this month when he said people who “whinge” about high crime levels should leave the country, expressed shock and said the gang could have had military training.”It seemed they had a level of training and had been trained to shoot,” he was quoted as saying by the Star newspaper.Adriao said police found a large cache of weapons, including an AK-47, at the house as well as evidence linking the suspects to the supermarket robbery.South Africa suffers from some of the world’s highest rates of violent crime, with murders, car hijackings and violent robberies covered in gory detail by the country’s newspapers.Officials say, however, that they are bringing crime rates down and accuse the media of exaggerating crimes that affect the country’s relatively wealthy white minority.- Nampa-ReutersPolice spokesman Inspector Dennis Adriao said 11 surviving suspects from the shootout in a residential area near central Johannesburg would appear in court today.”They will face a number of charges, first and foremost murder,” Adriao said.Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula, who sparked widespread outrage this month when he said people who “whinge” about high crime levels should leave the country, expressed shock and said the gang could have had military training.”It seemed they had a level of training and had been trained to shoot,” he was quoted as saying by the Star newspaper.Adriao said police found a large cache of weapons, including an AK-47, at the house as well as evidence linking the suspects to the supermarket robbery.South Africa suffers from some of the world’s highest rates of violent crime, with murders, car hijackings and violent robberies covered in gory detail by the country’s newspapers.Officials say, however, that they are bringing crime rates down and accuse the media of exaggerating crimes that affect the country’s relatively wealthy white minority.- Nampa-Reuters