Cape Town -
A metro police official narrowly escaped death when he was shot three times in the leg during an attempted robbery in Khayelitsha on Friday.
The 34-year-old officer is recovering in Tygerberg hospital.
He was off duty when he came under fire from three men who tried to take his firearm after he stopped at a shop in the area. He sought refuge in the store.
“It is alleged that the victim stopped in the Mew Way Road, in front of Sinalo cash store in Khayelitsha when a silver Mercedes-Benz, registration unknown, stopped next to him.
“The suspects asked for his firearm.
“When he told them that he did not have a firearm with him, they shot him three times. The victim was shot in the thigh.
“The suspects then drove away,” police spokesman Tembinkosi Kinana said on Sunday.
No one has been arrested.
Friday’s shooting brings the number of attacks on city of Cape Town police officials to four – two of them in Khayelitsha.
More than five officers have been killed in the province this year.
Two law enforcement officers attached to the city’s rapid response unit were ambushed outside the Moses Mabhida Library in Site C, Khayelitsha.
One of the officers just missed being hit as the bullet damaged her uniform at shoulder height.
They are members of a unit responsible for monitoring and responding to alarms at city premises.
A traffic officer was wounded when he was shot outside his home in Mitchells Plain in March.
Two metro police officers were shot and wounded during a routine vehicle check in Manenberg.
Safety and security Mayco member JP Smith said the attacks on officials were becoming regular.
“The brazen nature of the attack is becoming all too common, not just against city staff, but also the SAPS and is something that will have to be addressed urgently,” he said.
Elaborating on the most recent attack Smith said: “The suspects searched the officer as well as the vehicle and when they failed to find the firearm, opened fire on him,” Smith said. The men damaged his patrol vehicle before they fled the scene.
“I am shocked by this callous attack on our staff member and very relieved that he has survived the incident,” Smith said.
Cape Times