Cape Town - Security at police stations is once more in the spotlight after a policeman was shot in the head in a brazen attack on the Lingelethu West police station in Khayelitsha.
He is in a stable condition. Police said his name was being withheld out of concern for his safety.
The attack happened at the same time that the Institute for Race Relations (IRR) released a report showing showing that the killing of police officers had more than halved over the past 22 years. However, it said that despite this, South Africa remained a “relatively dangerous country in which to conduct police work”.
Police spokesperson Andrè Traut said about the latest incident that a sergeant at the Lingelethu West police station was shot in the face by three men, under the guise of reporting a robbery.
“One of the suspects produced a firearm and shot a police sergeant in his face. Police returned fire and the suspects fled. They are yet to be arrested. The wounded member was admitted to hospital in a stable condition.”
Chairperson of Khayelitsha Development Forum (KDF) Ndithini Tyhido described the incident as a "military-style attack".
“A male came to the CSC at Lingelethu West SAPS pretending to report a robbery case. The next moment, two more suspects entered and they started shooting with long rifles in the CSC. The first person jumped over the counter and one of our members retaliated and shot at the man."