By Everson Luhanga
A police sergeant was shot dead and another officer was seriously injured when armed robbers attacked them in Vosloorus, Ekurhuleni.
The two SAPS members from the Vosloorus police station were fired on when they went to fetch a colleague at Mvemve Street in the Mailula section on Tuesday.
When they arrived at their colleague’s house, the officers apparently interrupted armed robbers who were in the middle of a house robbery.
The suspects, seeing the marked police vehicle outside, mistakenly believed that the officers were responding to the robbery. They opened fire before fleeing the scene.
Both police officers were injured in the attack and tragically, one succumbed to her injuries.
Gauteng provincial police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Mavela Masondo said police have launched a manhunt for the suspects involved in the shooting.
Masondo said that the two police sergeants were inside their vehicle when the suspects approached and fired several shots at them.
“The officers were taken to a nearby medical facility, where a female sergeant succumbed to her gunshot injuries. The other officer remains in serious condition.”
The suspects robbed the officers of their service firearms before fleeing, Masondo added.
Preliminary investigations suggest that the suspects were committing a house robbery when they noticed the police vehicle stopping nearby. “At that point, they confronted the officers and began shooting,” Masondo said.
Gauteng Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Tommy Mthombeni has assigned officers from various units to track down the suspects, who remain at large.
Police are appealing to anyone with information that could help in the investigation or lead to catching the suspects to contact their nearest police station or call Crime Stop on 08600 10111.
Pictured above: The slain police sergeant.
Source: Supplied
