Manenberg police spokesman Captain Ian Bennett said police patrolling near Pecos Road had heard gunshots.
They saw a man running down the road with a gun in his hands and chased after him.
When found at an address in Pecos Road, he was still holding the firearm.
An additional charge relating to the possession of a prohibited gun would also be added to the charges as the serial number had been filed off.
The man appeared in the Athlone Magistrate’s Court on Friday April 6.