Police attacked while attending to a robbery

The provincial police commissioner, Lt Gen Semakaleng Manamela, has condemned an incident in which members of the police were attacked and showered with bullets as they attended to a business burglary incident.

This disturbing incident took place in the early hours of Monday April 11 in KaBokweni. According to the police report, they received a complaint about a business burglary in progress in Newscom and responded.

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Before the police could reach the scene, their van was ambushed by a group of about eight armed suspects who randomly fired shots at them. The members took cover, however, one, a police sergeant, sustained injuries on his chin when he was shot. 

The police van’s one side window was also damaged during the shooting. In the hail of bullets, the police assessed the situation and called for medical assistance for the injured member, who was later treated in hospital. 

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The members advanced into the business premises, only to realise that the suspects had already escaped. It was discovered that before they escaped the scene, they had detonated explosives to gain entry through the steel door. 

They had stolen an undisclosed amount of money, some cellphones, speed-point machines and hair clippers.

Manamela has vowed that the police, in collaboration with members of the society, will ensure that the perpetrators are quickly brought to book.

“We will never retreat from the battle against crime nor allow a situation of anarchy to prevail. We would like to send a clear message to people who attack any officer of the law in the country, that they are in fact waging a war against the state, and that behaviour will never be accepted nor tolerated,” she said.

A manhunt has since been launched by the police, and public assistance was requested to solve this case.