A 44-year-old man, who is a police sergeant attached to the public order policing unit in Thohoyandou, was arrested for the attempted murder of his landlord, Limpopo police said.
The attempted murder incident happened on Monday, at around 10pm in Makwarela township, Vhembe District.
“The victim found the suspect outside the rented residence playing loud music and instructed him to stop since it was disturbing pupils with their examination preparations,” spokesperson, Brigadier Hlulani Mashaba said.
“Afterwards, the suspect (the police sergeant) didn't take it well, and an argument ensued. The suspect fired shots at the victim and then fled the scene.”
The landlord was taken to the nearest hospital with severe gunshot wounds on the upper body.
“Police were notified about the incident and opened an attempted murder case. The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) was notified,” said Mashaba.
The police officer was arrested on Tuesday, at Vuwani village.
Meanwhile, provincial commissioner of police in Limpopo, Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe, has condemned the incident “in the strongest terms”.
"Police officers are tasked with safeguarding the people, not harming them. This behaviour is intolerable; this member has to face the long arm of the law, and this is a warning to those who might still consider doing the same,” said Hadebe.
The 44-year-old police sergeant is scheduled to appear before the Thohoyandou Magistrate’s Court, facing charges of attempted murder.
Last month, IOL reported that a police officer who allegedly shot dead a Joburg Metro Police officer outside a Braamfontein nightclub in June, in a suspected love triangle, was arrested by the police watchdog, Ipid.
Ipid investigators arrested Constable Bongimpilo Nzuzu Bengu, 28.
Bengu was based at the visible policing unit at the Parkview police station, in Gauteng.
He was charged with murder for the fatal shooting of JMPD officer Sibusiso Zikalala, whom he had become embroiled in an argument with, leading to Zikalala being shot dead in front of his wife.
The two officers were both off-duty when an altercation took place outside a nightclub on Juta Street in Braamfontein.
Bengu has since appeared before the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court and was released on R5,000 bail.
IOL