Gauteng police appeal for info on attacks cops
Police have launched a manhunt for various men following attacks on police officers in Atteridgeville in Pretoria and on the East Rand over the weekend.
|||Johannesburg – Gauteng police have launched a manhunt for various men following attacks on police officers in Atteridgeville in Pretoria and on the East Rand over the weekend.
One of the officers was shot dead and another wounded, Lt-Col Lungelo Dlamini said on Sunday.
“Police are appealing to anyone who may have information about the whereabouts of the suspects to contact the nearest police station or contact Crime Stop at 086-00-10111. Any information that may lead to the arrest and conviction of the suspects will be rewarded.”
In Atteridgeville at midnight on Friday, a 46-year-old warrant officer was attacked by three unknown men wearing balaclavas and demanding his vehicle parked outside a house.
“In the ensuing struggle to take the vehicle, the police officer was shot and killed and the suspects took his vehicle, a new VW Golf 6, and drove away. He was shot in the upper body and died at the scene,” Dlamini said.
A 35-year-old policewoman and her colleague were also attacked in the early hours of Saturday morning by two armed men. While the officers were waiting to pick up one of their colleague, they confronted two suspicious men they suspected to be in possession of a stolen vehicle.
A shoot-out ensued between the suspects and the police. The policewoman, a sergeant, was wounded several times. The suspects managed to escape and were still at large. The policewoman was in hospital in a serious but stable condition. Her colleague was not injured.
In another incident at Kwa-Thema on the East Rand in the early hours of Sunday morning, a suspect wanted for murder fired shots at police. Police returned fire and he was wounded and taken to hospital under police guard. Police seized an unlicenced pistol. This happened after a witness in a murder case pointed out the suspect to police, Dlamini said.
The man would be charged with murder and attempted murder when he appeared in the Benoni Magistrate’s Court within 48 hours.
The men at large were considered to be armed and dangerous and members of the public were warned not to confront them, but to contact police. Police were also following several leads to arrest the men, Dlamini said.
In other crime prevention operations over the weekend, police recovered 15 illegal firearms and arrested 21 suspects for possession of illegal firearms, pointing a firearm, attempted murder, and assault. The arrests were made in various areas, including Actonville, Cleveland, Daveyton, Dobsonville, Elsburg, Kliptown, Mamelodi, and Primrose.
African News Agency (ANA)