Police narrowly survive mob attack

POLICE members and a tuck shop owner miraculously escaped after a group of angry residents attempted to set the shop alight – with them inside.

Zululand Cluster police spokesperson Captain Nkosie Gwala said the tuck shop owner in Madelakafu, Paulpietersburg, had been accused of stabbing a suspected thief with a pair of scissors.

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“Police tried unsuccessfully to calm the angry community. More members from the station responded,” said Gwala, adding that the confrontation worsened as members of the community intensified their attack.

“Police officers were trapped inside the shop with the owner, a foreign national. Residents tried to set the shop alight with the members inside, but the police managed to escape as the patrol vehicles rushed in to rescue them and the owner,” she said.

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Gwala said that during the commotion, police fired warning shots to disperse the angry mob.

“Two State vehicles were damaged as angry community members stoned them. Police managed to return safely to the charge office, and it was later reported that the shop was completely looted.

One officer was rushed to Paulpietersburg Community Health Centre for treatment to his right collarbone after he was struck by a brick thrown by a community member,” she said.

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