Cape Town - An off-duty police sergeant was shot and killed, in a suspected hijacking this morning, in Eerste River.
According to a police source, Sergeant Andile Sirhunu was with a friend when the incident happened and the police received a report that he was immediately transported to Eerste River Hospital.
Upon arrival, they found the victim with two gunshot wounds to the chest. The friend told the hospital that they were hijacked in Blue Downs and the officer was shot in the process. The victim was declared dead on arrival at the hospital. The Western Cape SAPS provincial management expressed their shock at the killing of their member.
“The 35-year-old off-duty sergeant, stationed at Lentegeur SAPS Visible Policing, was allegedly hijacked, shot, and fatally wounded, in Eersterivier, in the early hours of this morning. He was shot in his neck and was transported to a nearby hospital, where he died due to his injuries,” said police spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk.
Van Wyk added that the scene of crime still needs to be reconstructed to establish what really happened.
“A murder case has been opened for investigation by the Hawks. Anyone with information about this fatal incident, that could assist the police investigation, is urged to contact Crime Stop on 08600 10111,” said Van Wyk.
Meanwhile, the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) said they were concerned about the alarming rise in the killings of officers.
“Popcru finds it infuriating, the ’snail’s pace’ level at which recurring incidents of officer killings are being undermined, if not ignored, resulting in at least six deaths within the last 10 days, and bringing the total number of killings to 38, within the last eight months,” said Popcru president Zizamele Cebekhulu.
“While the threat against our police officers has been on an increase, with some losing their lives to criminal elements, we should not be deterred by these cowardly acts. We urgently need a formulation of protective and preventative strategies necessary to protect our police officers,” added Cebekhulu.
He called for urgent dialogue, with the minister of police and the national police commissioner, addressing this debacle, “in the event it is delayed, the Popcru leadership will be left with no option but to consider other measures,” said Cebekhulu.
Weekend Argus