- An off duty police officer was shot and killed near his home in Samora Machel.
- The 39-year-old officer was stationed at the Cape Town Central police station.
- He was returning home after a 12-hour night shift, when he was attacked.
A Cape Town Central police officer was shot and killed outside his house in Samora Machel as he returned home after a 12-hour night shift in the CBD.
The 39-year-old sergeant was gunned down in Oliver Tambo Drive at approximately 06:45 on Thursday.
Western Cape police spokesperson Colonel André Traut said detectives and crime scene experts were gathering leads in an attempt to find those responsible for the murder.
"He sustained several gunshot wounds and succumbed at the crime scene. The victim 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," Traut said.
The Western Cape's police commissioner, Lieutenant-General Thembislie Patekile, sent his condolences to the family and loved ones of the fallen police officer. He assured the family that SAPS would use all its resources to track and trace the killers, so they could be brought before a court of law.
Samora Machel's community police forum spokesperson, Bongani Maqungwana, said the community was shocked by the incident, and called for better protection measures to be put in place in the area.
"We were not expecting this. If the criminals can even shoot cops, that means they mean business. The state must up the ante. Recently we have seen shootings, hijackings, and now there has been taxi violence," Maqungwana said.
"We don't want to link this to anything because we don't know what the motive is, but we are saying it still has a criminal element."
This incident follows hot on the heels of the annual SAPS commemoration celebrations held in Pretoria on Sunday, where President Cyril Ramaphosa honoured fallen officers and their families.
More than 30 officers died between March 2021 and March 2022."This National Commemoration Day should serve not only to pay tribute to our fallen men and women in blue, who lost their lives in the fight against crime, it should also serve to mobilise society against the killing of our officers," Ramaphosa said.
"Those responsible for police killings, who have not yet been arrested, must know that, wherever they are, they will be found and they will face the full might of the law."
SAPS said the investigation into the officer's death would be conducted by the Hawks.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stop on 08600 10111.