Man shot after officer was robbed
A man was fatally shot after allegedly trying to rob an off-duty highway patrol officer on Tuesday 23 March.
The incident took place on the Grootfontein Road outside Modimolle. According to WO. Pieter Booyse, an off-duty member of the highway patrol unit, who was dressed in civilian clothes, hitched a ride from Modimolle towards Mookgophong. A vehicle with four other people stopped to offer him a lift.
“According to our information, the car pulled over on the dirt road and the passenger in the front seat demanded the officer’s cell phone. The passenger pulled a gun and the police officer reacted swiftly by drawing his own weapon.”
A shot was fired and the passenger was hit. He died on the scene. The driver of the car and the other two passengers, a man and a woman, fled the scene.
“The police checked for footage on a nearby security camera and saw one of the men fleeing. They identified him as he walked alongside a donkey cart. The woman was also arrested, but the third suspect absconded and is still on the run,” Booyse said.
He suspects that these suspects might be part of a group of robbers who harassed residents late last year.
“We had several cases of people being robbed on the stretch of road from the taxi rank in Thabo Mbeki Drive towards Middelfontein.”
The police officer’s name was not made public. By the time of going to press, no further information was available.
