A police sergeant died after being shot while responding to a business burglary near Komatipoort in the early hours of Saturday, August 9.

Sergeant Lawrence Dumisani Mtshweni (47), who served in the Visible Policing Unit at Schoemansdal police station, was attending to a burglary in progress with colleagues when they were ambushed by about 10 armed suspects.

During the attack, Mtshweni was shot in the upper body and rushed to hospital, but he later succumbed to his injuries.

Mpumalanga provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Donald Mdhluli confirmed the sergeant’s death. He had 18 years of service.

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Following the shooting, Acting Provincial Police Commissioner Major General Dr Zeph Mkhwanazi deployed all available resources to locate the suspects.

“An integrated team of intelligence operatives, Hawks, the provincial tracking team, and private sector units are working around the clock to apprehend the suspects,” said Mdhluli.

The police are urging community members not to protect criminals but to provide information that could lead to their arrest.

“Attacking police officers is an attack on the state,” Mdhluli added.

In a separate incident, on July 28, a police officer based at Nelspruit police station but residing in Bushbuckridge was robbed of his service pistol.

The officer was walking towards his vehicle in the Bushbuckridge CBD around 19:00, after using public transport, when two men approached him from behind, overpowered him, and fled with the firearm loaded with 15 rounds of ammunition.

Police opened a case and, following a tip-off, arrested three suspects, two men and one woman, on August 7.

The woman was found in possession of the stolen firearm at her residence. The gun and three rounds of ammunition were recovered.

The suspects – Fumani Avoid Mashego (19), Surprise Khoza (25), and Promise Thandi Mashego (23) – appeared briefly in the Mapulaneng Magistrate’s Court on August 8.

They face charges of robbery with aggravating circumstances, possession of an unlicensed firearm, and ammunition.

All three have been remanded in custody ahead of a formal bail application scheduled for August 15.