WATCH | Tow truck driver killed after pursuing CIT heist robbers - reports

Robbers in three vehicles held up a cash-in-transit (CIT) vehicle on Ontdekkers Road, Johannesburg, on Friday morning, according to preliminary reports.

A tow truck driver was allegedly killed by the fleeing robbers, Gauteng traffic police said.

The robbery took place at about 8am.

The tow truck driver had tried to follow the robbers when they fled the scene to alert police to their whereabouts, said anti-crime activist Yusuf Abramjee.

Vision Tactical said the suspects were travelling in three vehicles and they bombed the cash van.

ER24 spokesperson Russel Meiring said on their arrival at the scene at the intersection of Hendrik Potgieter and Ontdekkers roads, they found a "blown up" armoured vehicle on the side of the road.

“On assessment, medics found a security officer had sustained minor soft-tissue injuries.”

He was treated and transported to a nearby hospital.

Meiring said after a few minutes, ER24 paramedics were called to 14th Avenue for a shooting incident, believed to have been related to the CIT heist.

A war is raging: cash-in-transit heists escalate

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“At the  scene, medics found a man lying inside a towing recovery vehicle. Assessments showed he had sustained a fatal gunshot wound in his chest.”

He was declared dead on the scene.

Further details surrounding this incident are not yet known.

Sunday Times reported earlier this month that SA’s CIT heist season has struck early, with armed gangs launching deadly attacks which have already left 24 people dead and dozens injured this year.

Criminologists and CIT companies said the surge started in August, two months ahead of the annual November heist peak.

Despite the lockdown, SA Banking Risk Information Centre data shows a 29% increase in cash van attacks between 2019 and 2020.

This is a developing story.

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