A suspect linked to the hijacking and robbery of an ambulance crew in Tshwane in July has been apprehended, the Gauteng health department said on Thursday.
He is due to make a first court appearance on Thursday.
This comes after a spate of attacks on paramedics and ambulance workers in Mamelodi and Atteridgeville, with the department hoping more arrests can be made.
“We welcome this positive development and hope that it will lead to other arrests as this suspect was not working alone,” Gauteng MEC for health and wellness Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko said.
The department said the arrested suspect is linked to the July 22 hijacking of an ambulance in Nellmapius, Mamelodi, during which EMS personnel were held up at gunpoint. They were robbed of their personal and work belongings, tied up and held in a shack before the robbers stole their bank cards to raid their bank accounts.
“The following day another crew was hijacked and robbed of their belongings and working tools at Brazzaville in Atteridgeville.
“In recent times, healthcare workers have found themselves under attack when doing their work in communities leading to an outcry and a call for the law enforcement agencies to act swiftly in bringing perpetrators to book.”
TimesLIVE
Suspect nabbed for holding EMS crew in shack during robbery in Tshwane
Image: Gauteng health department
A suspect linked to the hijacking and robbery of an ambulance crew in Tshwane in July has been apprehended, the Gauteng health department said on Thursday.
He is due to make a first court appearance on Thursday.
This comes after a spate of attacks on paramedics and ambulance workers in Mamelodi and Atteridgeville, with the department hoping more arrests can be made.
“We welcome this positive development and hope that it will lead to other arrests as this suspect was not working alone,” Gauteng MEC for health and wellness Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko said.
The department said the arrested suspect is linked to the July 22 hijacking of an ambulance in Nellmapius, Mamelodi, during which EMS personnel were held up at gunpoint. They were robbed of their personal and work belongings, tied up and held in a shack before the robbers stole their bank cards to raid their bank accounts.
“The following day another crew was hijacked and robbed of their belongings and working tools at Brazzaville in Atteridgeville.
“In recent times, healthcare workers have found themselves under attack when doing their work in communities leading to an outcry and a call for the law enforcement agencies to act swiftly in bringing perpetrators to book.”
TimesLIVE
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