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An off-duty police sergeant attached to Nyanga has been shot and killed while visiting a relative in Khayelitsha, adding to a violent weekend that has left several communities across Cape Town grappling with yet another loss of life, Cape {town}Etc reports.

According to the South African Police Service, the 47-year-old officer was at a home in Town Two on Sunday afternoon when gunmen reportedly entered the property and opened fire.

Police said the suspects fled the scene in a vehicle shortly after the shooting.

SAPS confirmed the killing in a statement shared on social media, which indicated that the officer was visiting family when the attack unfolded at about 2:55pm.

Details surrounding the motive remain unclear. A murder case has been registered at Lingelethu West police station, while detectives from the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, commonly known as the Hawks, have taken over the investigation.

Western Cape SAPS management said they were still coming to terms with the loss of their colleague.

‘Western Cape police are still reeling from shock, following the murder of a Nyanga off-duty police sergeant who was shot and killed in Khayelitsha on Sunday afternoon,’ the statement read.

Police further confirmed that two armed men entered the residence and fired multiple shots before escaping.

The officer’s killing followed the fatal shooting of DA Ward 104 by-election candidate Sinovuyo Dyokwe in Dunoon on Saturday evening.

Over recent days, shootings reported in areas including Lotus River and Manenberg have also renewed concerns around persistent violent crime in several communities.

The latest incidents have also reignited debate around anti-gang interventions on the Cape Flats.

In a statement highlighted by NovaNews, the DA said the recent killings were ‘reminders of the devastating impact that criminal gangs continue to have on communities across the Cape Flats’ and argued that they ‘reiterate the serious questions about the effectiveness of the continued deployment of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) as a response to gang violence’.

The party said communities affected by recurring violence require long-term solutions that go beyond increased visibility, calling for stronger law enforcement and intelligence-led efforts aimed at dismantling criminal networks operating in known hotspots.

SAPS Western Cape management extended condolences to the officer’s loved ones and fellow members of the service.

The police officer’s identity has not been released publicly.

Investigators are now working to establish why the sergeant was targeted and whether the attack was linked to broader criminal activity in the area.

Authorities have urged anyone with information that could assist the investigation to come forward.

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