Cape Town - The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) has been activated to investigate the shocking killing of a Cape Town Central police officer.
Police say the 39-year-old sergeant was gunned down in his yard by unknown suspects on Thursday morning, less than five minutes after arriving home from a 12-hour night shift.
Police spokesperson Andrè Traut said: “Detectives and crime scene experts were dispatched to follow-up on leads in Oliver Tambo Drive in Samora Machel yesterday after an offduty police officer was shot and killed in cold blood.
“An initial account of the incident indicates that at around 6.45am, the sergeant had returned home after a 12-hour night shift when he was attacked by armed criminals in front of his residence.”
Traut said the victim sustained several gunshot wounds and succumbed to his injuries at the crime scene.
“He was not armed with his service pistol at the time of the incident and it is still unclear whether he was killed for access to a firearm.
“Anyone who can shed light on the circumstances of the incident is kindly requested to contact Crime Stop anonymously on 08600 10111 or use the mobile application MySAPS,” Traut said.
Provincial police commissioner Thembislie Patekile on Thursday expressed his condolences to the family and loved ones of the slain officer, assuring them the police would be using all their resources to track and trace the suspects and bring them before a court of law.
Samora Machel CPF spokesperson Bongani Maqungwana said: “We were very shocked and saddened to hear about what took place on Thursday. This is not something that happens often in Samora Machel and our hearts and prayers are with the sergeant’s loved ones.”
Maqungwana said over the last few months, Samora Machel had begun to settle into a new norm where crime wasn’t prevalent.
“Because of the recent taxi violence, murders due to hijackings and now this, we might have to go back to the drawing board,” he said.