Bullets fly at protest

28 July 2015 - 02:01 By Gareth Wilson

Gangsters in Port Elizabeth opened fire on the police yesterday during what was meant to be a peaceful protest about the lack of teachers in the area. Mayhem erupted shortly after 6am when police clashed with stone-throwing protesters and armed men said to be gangsters.The police confirmed that shots were fired at them.The police deployed additional manpower from police stations across the Bay, including members the Public Order Policing Unit, the Flying Squad, the Canine Unit and tactical response teams.By 7am a joint operations centre that included ambulances, the police, and traffic and fire-fighting personnel had been formed to stop the protests.Traffic and police officers blocked roads leading into the city's northern suburbs from about 7am, and several officers, armed with shotguns, were deployed.Police spokesman Captain Sandra Janse van Rensburg said a water cannon and the Air Wing were also despatched to the scene."Rubber bullets have been fired as well as stun grenades and teargas to disperse the crowds," she said.During the protest, the vehicles of the police and passing motorists were pelted with stones."Because of the damage to police cars, and the roads being unsafe, the area was cordoned off and Nyalas [armoured cars] were deployed to the area," Janse van Rensburg said.Six police cars were stoned and a motorist's car was damaged yesterday afternoon.Two people were arrested for public violence.Protesters claimed they were shot at by the police and showed journalists several spent .45-calibre cartridges.Janse van Rensburg said no live ammunition had been used by the police but if the cartridges were given to the police they would be sent for ballistics testing to determine what weapon had fired them."Under no circumstances was live ammunition used by the police. We suspect the cartridges were from illegal firearm owners and gangsters."We have had reports from our officers on the ground that suspected gangsters fired on the police in between all the chaos. Often we find criminal elements climbing in and taking over."..

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