Police have made a breakthrough and arrested six suspects in connection with the murder of Kaizer Chiefs player, Luke Fleurs. The footballer was shot during a hijacking in Roodepoort last week and later succumbed to his injuries in hospital.
Gauteng police spokesperson, Colonel Mavela Masondo, said that a multi-disciplinary team had been on the ground tracing and tracking the suspects. "The six suspects were traced and arrested in Slovoville, Soweto, in the early hours of this morning while the vehicle that was already stripped, was recovered on Monday Police believe that the suspects are part of a syndicate responsible for car hijackings in Gauteng.
At the time of the incident, police said Fleurs was driving a red VW Golf 8 GTI into a petrol station on 14th Avenue and while waiting to be served by the petrol attendant, he was confronted by two armed males who came driving a white BMW 1 series. Masondo said the suspects pointed Fleurs with a firearm and took him out of his vehicle, then shot him once on the upper body. One suspect drove off with the victim's car, followed by his accomplice. The search for more suspects is continuing and the suspects are expected to appear before Roodepoort Magistrates Court on Friday, 12 April 2024. Meanwhile, SAPS statistics report that 5,973 cars were hijacked between October and December 2023. This equates to approximately 66 cars being stolen daily, a 6.5% rise from the same period in 2022. SAPS says, three provinces experienced a notable year-on-year increase (10%) in hijackings, these being Gauteng (14.4%), the Western Cape (14%) and North West (11%).
