Drama after foreign national is shot dead in Roodepoort

The victim's fellow countrymen claim he was not armed.


There was a tense stand-off between Roodepoort police, metropolice members and a large group of Nigerian nationals, after one of their fellow countrymen was shot dead last night (9 April), Roodepoort Record reports.

According to police spokesperson, Violet Mogale, the incident took place at about 5.30pm in Georginia, Roodepoort.

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A police vehicle was patrolling when the officers spotted a suspicious looking vehicle. They pulled it over, searched it and found dagga. When they tried to arrest the suspect, a Nigerian national, he escaped and jumped a fence. When the police cornered him he pulled out a knife and tried to stab the police officer. The member retaliated, shot the suspect and killed him.

When other members of the Nigerian community caught wind of the incident, they gathered en masse at the scene and blamed the police of shooting an unarmed man.

During the confrontation, two state vehicles were damaged. One resident told the Roodepoort Record that the confrontation became so heated that her family decided to flee their home.

Calm was restored at about 7.30pm.

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