Security officer shot dead while escorting a delivery truck in Cape Town

A security officer has been killed in Philippi, Cape Town.

According to the police, he was shot dead around noon on Wednesday.

It is believed the guard was escorting a truck on its way to make a delivery in the Browns Farm area, when he was attacked.

“The suspects fled with the victim’s firearm,” police spokesperson Colonel Andre Traut said.

Traut said no arrests had yet been made.

In a separate incident on Tuesday, five suspects were fatally wounded following a shootout with police in KwaZulu-Natal.

Police officers from the Durban K9 Unit followed up on information about a stolen vehicle that was used in a number of carjackings and robberies in Pinetown, Umbilo and Berea areas.

It was spotted on the M7 highway towards Bellair area and a chase ensued between the suspects and the police towards the Malvern area. The suspects’ vehicle crashed into a concrete light pole and brick wall where it overturned on Woodlands Avenue in Bellair while firing shots at the police, said the South African Police Service (SAPS) in a statement.

All five suspects believed to be in their thirties were declared dead at the scene and three unlicensed firearms with six rounds of ammunition were seized.

The suspects were positively linked to a business robbery case that was committed on Tuesday at Umbilo where a vehicle and other belongings were taken from the business premises, and another case of carjacking reported in Pinetown where a motorist was robbed of his vehicle yesterday morning.

The preliminary investigation gathered at the scene also revealed that the said vehicle was taken during a house robbery at Newlands East in June 2020, said the SAPS.

“It is quite disturbing to see police officers being attacked while executing their duties. The police officers will defend themselves when they come under attack. I am pleased that no injuries were sustained by the team,” said the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Khombinkosi Jula.

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