Cape Town police said they have launched a manhunt for the suspects responsible for shooting and killing a police officer in the Samora Machel township.
It’s understood that the male sergeant was gunned down in front of his home in Oliver Tambo drive at approximately 6.45 am on Thursday morning.
According to provincial police spokesperson Colonel Andrè Traut, the officer had just arrived home from his shift when he was attacked and gunned down.
“A 39-year-old sergeant stationed at Cape Town Central returned home after a 12-hour night shift when he was attacked by armed criminals in front of his residence. He sustained several gunshot wounds and succumbed to (his) death on the crime scene.”
Traut says the motive for the shooting is still unclear.
“The victim was not armed with his service pistol at the time of the incident and it is still unclear whether he was killed for access to a firearm.”
The investigation will be conducted by the Hawks.
Anyone with any information on the circumstances is urged to contact Crime Stop anonymously on 08600 10111 or use the mobile application MySAPS.
It’s been a deadly few months for members of the South African Police Service in the Western Cape, reports Cape Talk. This latest incident follows the murders of a 31-year-old Gugulethu police station officer and Table Bay Harbour police officer Shamielah Arendse, who was gunned down outside her house in Delft in June.
The latest crime stats show that 18 police officers were killed between April and June this year. This past weekend saw three men and women in blue shot at in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces, as reported by EWN.
During a visit to the province in July, Police Minister Bheki Cele said it looked as if there is a war against the police in the Western Cape.
The Western Cape Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Thembisile Patekile expressed his sincere condolences to the family and loved ones of the fallen police officer.
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