Johannesburg - A policewoman was rushed to hospital after being shot while on a routine patrol.
Police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Lungelo Dlamini said members of the flying squad were patrolling the Golden Highway near Eldorado Park when they saw a white BMW X3 with tinted windows.
“Feeling that the vehicle was suspicious, the officers tried to stop the vehicle. This is when two of the occupants in the BMW began shooting at the officers with rifles,” he said.
Of the three officers in the police vehicle, only one, a policewoman in the back seat, was wounded.
“She was shot in the upper body. The back window was shattered.”
After the incident, police found a pistol on the road which they suspect was dropped by the fleeing suspects.
Dlamini said there was no fresh information on the wounded officer’s condition when he spoke to The Star a few hours after the incident.
‘The policewoman was critical when she was transported to hospital.”
Photos tweeted by the @SAPoliceService account show pictures of the bullet-riddled squad car.
The police also tweeted: “Anyone with info on shooting of #SAPS car on #GoldenHighway today call #CrimeStop 086 001 0111.’
This incident comes after the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union urged its members to shoot back at trigger-happy criminals.
In a statement, the union said: “Over the past months police have been targeted by criminals with the sole aim of killing them. They stop at nothing in their ill-conceived deeds and, for this reason, we have seen many among our ranks leaving behind widowed wives and orphaned children.
“We declare a relentless war on criminals. No more shall our police officers fall victim to these senseless killings.”
The union urged all officers across the country to be vigilant.
The Star
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