Pretoria - Another Limpopo police station has been attacked. On Monday night, a man stormed into the Jane Furse police station, disarmed the officer on duty and held the rest of the staff hostage.
The suspect was later shot dead by members of the Tactical Response Team after he refused to surrender.
Independent Police Investigating Directorate (Ipid) spokesperson Lizzy Suping they were investigating the matter because the suspect died at the hands of police.
“It is alleged that the deceased entered the Jane Furse police station on March 28 at about 8pm. He grabbed the firearm from the thigh holster of one of the police officers who was executing his Community Service Centre duties and held the rest of them hostage while promising to kill them.
“Members were able to inform their counterparts about the hostage drama. A hostage negotiator was brought in together with members from the Tactical Response Team for back-up.
“The intruder refused to surrender following requests from the hostage negotiator. The team entered the office where the deceased was firing shots from and police members retaliated,” said Suping.
She said identity of the deceased was unknown. He was found to be in possession of used nyaope sachets and an injection. An inquest case was opened.
Provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Motlafela Mojalefa could not comment on the incident and referred the Pretoria News to Ipid.
Minister of Police Bheki Cele’s spokesperson Lirandzu Themba also referred the matter to the SAPS, saying: “We are not aware of the incident at this point.”
The incident comes five months after heavily armed men stormed the Malamulele police station and robbed the officers of rifles, pistols and ammunition.
In January, 10 men linked to the incident were arrested. The suspects had gone on a rampage, bombing ATMs.
DA provincial spokesperson on community safety Susan Phaala said the party was concerned that rural police stations seemed to have become soft targets for criminals.
She said: “According to the crime statistics for the third quarter of 2021, there was a massive downward trend of crimes detected as a result of police action in Limpopo province.
“SAPS made only 3 428 arrests through police action in the quarter under review – 4 192 arrests less than in the same period last year.
“The DA reiterates that our rural police stations are mostly under-resourced and under-capacitated, with under-trained police officers with a poor crime intelligence network.
“Without increased resources, the SAPS in Limpopo cannot expect a turnaround in the crime statistics or effectively protect themselves against brazen criminals and our communities will remain unsafe."
Pretoria News