Two Pretoria cops shot, service pistols taken
In one incident, a constable had returned home from participating in a soccer game at Kgosi Mampuru Prison and was fatally shot in his room.
The national commissioner of police, Lieutenant-General Sehlale Masemola has ordered a manhunt for three unknown suspects responsible for the murder of a police officer in the north of Pretoria, in Gauteng.
The killing is one of two recent incidents related to suspects targeting police for service pistols.
The killing of a police constable stationed at the Hillbrow Police Station happened in extension 8 in Soshanguve on Saturday.
The constable had returned from a soccer game at Kgosi Mampuru Prison and was later shot in the back in his room.
It is reported that the constable’s mother and father tried to save the police officer’s life. They rushed him to George Mukhari Hospital, where he died.
The suspects took the police service pistol and cell phone and fled the scene.
National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe confirmed that an off-duty constable was gunned down at his home and his service pistol taken.
She said the incident occurred just after midnight, and police have since launched a manhunt for three men believed to be behind the murder.
The second incident is that of a police captain shot in Montana, at Sefako Makgatho Drive on the N1 South highway.
Mathe confirmed that the captain was wounded and airlifted to a hospital after being shot while on duty.
“He was with his work partner when they were accosted by two criminals who shot him and then left the scene with the service pistol.”
Police have also launched a manhunt for suspects in the incident.
General Masemola said police had mobilised resources to apprehend those responsible for two incidents in which police officers were targeted for their firearms.
“Police officers in affected provinces where gun violence is prevalent are working around the clock to ensure they continue to seize and confiscate illegal firearms during the tracking and tracing of wanted suspects and disruptive operations conducted daily,” said Masemola.
Masemola called on community members to share information through anonymous tip-offs, if need be, to urgently address gun violence in South Africa.
Read original story on rekord.co.za