Gauteng police have arrested five suspects aged between 15 and 21 after chilling dashcam footage went viral on social media, showing a 20-year-old e-hailing driver fleeing for his life during an armed ambush in Eldorado Park, Johannesburg, while one of his attackers shouted, “Shoot him, shoot him!”
According to Gauteng police spokesperson Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi, the armed robbery took place at around 11:00 on Tuesday, 27 October 2026, in Eldorado Park Extension 7.
The 20-year-old victim, who was driving a white Toyota Etios, had responded to an e-hailing ride request to pick up a passenger on Maine Street when he walked straight into a coordinated trap.
Lured into a trap on Maine Street
“Upon arrival, a female suspect signalled the driver and entered the front passenger seat, instructing him to wait for her brothers,” Nevhuhulwi said.
In the viral dashcam video, the woman greets the driver—who is holding his cellphone while it charges inside the car—before glancing out the side of the vehicle and positioning herself near the passenger door as if preparing to jump out.
Moments later, as the driver looks towards two men standing outside his window, a male accomplice climbs into the back seat and opens the door to let two others inside.
“Shortly after the second male entered, one suspect engaged the vehicle’s handbrake while the group forcibly robbed the driver of an undisclosed amount of cash, his driver’s licence, identity document and bank cards,” Nevhuhulwi said.
As the man in the back seat reaches forward and yanks the handbrake, the footage shows the female passenger lunging for the driver's cellphone before bolting out of the car.
“Shoot him, shoot him!”
Realising he is being ambushed, the young driver scrambles out of the Toyota Etios and runs for his life.
In the recording, one of the men can be heard yelling, “Shoot him, shoot him!” while another suspect, appearing to hold a firearm, chases after the fleeing driver.
Nevhuhulwi confirmed that a fourth suspect standing outside the vehicle fired a gunshot during the robbery and demanded the driver’s cellphone.
“The suspects subsequently fled the scene without taking the phone,” she said.
The dashcam video shows two of the robbers returning to the abandoned car—left standing with both front doors wide open while a dog barks in the background—to rifle through the driver’s wallet and search around the driver's seat. One of the men briefly comes back to grab additional items before another man later walks up and shuts the vehicle's doors after the gang has fled.
Five suspects behind bars
The video sparked widespread outrage across social media, with users identifying the female passenger and demanding swift arrests.
Nevhuhulwi confirmed that a follow-up operation driven by operational information—involving Eldorado Park Crime Intelligence, detectives, and Visible Policing (Vispol) officers—tracked down and arrested five suspects aged between 15 and 21.
“All suspects are expected to appear before court soon on charges related to armed robbery and firearm offences,” Nevhuhulwi added.