Staff Reporter.
Two on-duty police officers in Cape Town were shot dead on Sunday morning in what was described as an “apparent ambush”.
Both members were killed on the scene and robbed of their official firearms.
“At around 01:25 the members were on patrol in Phumla Street in Bloekombos when their vehicle came under fire in an apparent ambush. Both members were killed on the scene and robbed of their official firearms,” Western Cape SAPS spokesperson Colonel Andrè Traut said in a statement.
The identities of the murdered sergeant and constable would be released at a later stage, he said.
The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) had been assigned to investigate the circumstances “surrounding this heinous act against the state, and we appeal to the public to come forward with information that will assist us to bring these criminals to book, as there is no space in society for them. Anonymous calls can be made to Crime Stop on 086-00-10111”, Traut said.
Western Cape acting police commissioner Maj-Gen Thembisile Patekile has instituted a 72-hour activation plan to apprehend those responsible for the death of two police officers in Kraaifontein in Cape Town.
Patekile had expressed his sincere condolence to the families of the two officers and vowed his support to them “during these challenging times”.
In separate incident there has been another fatal shooting in Mitchells Plain, just two days after five teenagers were shot and two killed on Thursday evening.
On Saturday, four men were shot and killed in Maureen Street in Tafelsig, Mitchells Plain. One other man was wounded.
This latest shooting comes just days after a 13-year-old boy and an 18-year-old boy were shot and killed, and three other teenagers aged 14, 16 and 18, were wounded while they stood on the corners of Cadillac and Riley Street, Beacon Valley.