Johannesburg - A nation cannot watch as policemen and women are slaughtered every day, Police Minister Nkosinathi Nhleko said on Sunday following the slaying of two more police officers while on duty.
“They must ensure the thugs do not hide among us,” his spokesman Musa Zondi said on his behalf.
The two officers died during a shootout with thugs on the N3 highway on Sunday morning, resulting in the freeway being closed most of the day. One police officer was shot in the head, another in the leg. The other officer was shot in the hand.
Paramedics and the police flooded the area shortly thereafter. A rifle and a pistol were recovered.
The killings bring to four the number of officers killed while on duty in Gauteng in the past 10 days.
On Wednesday, a policeman died on the scene after he was shot several times, including while lying injured on the ground, by a member of a gang that stormed into a bakery in the Park Station precinct. The constable was chasing two men in the early morning darkness after they had robbed a bakery.
On March 20, a police officer died after he was shot three times by robbers in Mooiplaats, Tshwane. Two officers had been patrolling near the Mooiplaats off-ramp when they approached a blue Audi A4. The people in the car shot at them, and the officer died.
Sunday’s attack was eerily similar. Provincial police spokeswoman Colonel Noxolo Kweza said police tried to stop a BMW. “The driver of the BMW refused to stop and members gave chase, only to find out that there was a Honda following behind which was also going with the BMW. Members then were travelling between the two vehicles and the suspect from the BMW started shooting at the police.”
Kweza said an officer died on the scene and a second died later in hospital. A third was in a critical condition in hospital.
Kweza said one of the gunmen was also shot and was under police guard in hospital. Others escaped. “A Mercedes-Benz, which was also used by the suspects, was recovered not far from the crime scene.”
The officers were stationed at Sandringham police station.
Joburg metro police spokeswoman Edna Mamonyane said the freeway was closed for most of the day, causing a severe back-up. “We opened three lanes around 4.30pm. We opened the rest of the lanes after 7pm after the body was removed by a mortuary van.”
The Star understands that the metro police dog unit found a hijacked vehicle on Comaro Road, not far away from The Glen mall.
“The minister has condemned the dastardly act and called on the investigators to ensure they leave no stone unturned in finding the culprit,” said Zondi.
Gun Free South Africa spokeswoman Claire Taylor said the government needed to tighten the screws on gun control to “make sure that people who have guns are fit to own them”..
The Star