The man suspected of shooting and seriously injuring a Cape Town-based police officer on Monday turned himself in.
Police spokesperson Captain Frederick van Wyk says a 30-year-old man, accompanied by his lawyer, turned himself in at the Maitland police station this week.
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The Anti-Gang Unit also arrested another man on Tuesday whose firearm was suspected to have been used during the shooting. The weapon was confiscated on William Taylor Avenue in Bellville South.
‘After following up on information that the firearm was indeed at the premises, a 41-year-old suspect was arrested for the possession of an unlicensed firearm. The firearm will undergo ballistic testing to ascertain if it was used in this shooting incident or any other criminal activities,’ Van Wyk told News24.
Constable Ashley Baumann (34) was shot while approaching three suspicious men in Facreton.
‘At around 12:30am, two police constables attached to Kensington police station approached three individuals under suspicious circumstances on the corners of Lugmag Avenue and Drommedaris Road in Factreton for (…) questioning, when one fled on foot,’ police spokesperson André Traut said.
The person who fled on foot was the one who fired shots at Baumann.
Two of the three men were detained for questioning.
‘My concern on the attack and killing of the police in this province is [that it is] becoming the fashion. Right now, we have a member fighting for his life in hospital after he was shot in Kensington,’ says Western Cape police commissioner Thembisile Patekile.
The suspect, who handed himself over to the police, did not have a firearm. ‘He didn’t use a pen to shoot the officer; he used the gun, and we still want the gun. Please help us get the guns away from the community. Tomorrow, that gun will kill you or one of us,’ says Patekile.
‘Protect your protectors. We, as policemen, will not be afraid; we will soldier on.’
According to Kensington Community Policing Forum (CPF) chairperson Jameelah Liedeman, Baumann is recovering well in the hospital.
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Picture: Roger Sedres / Gallo Images