Spine-chilling and cowardly… That’s how Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane has described an attack on two paramedics that left one dead and the other critically injured.
Intermediate Life Support paramedic Phumzile Dlamini (40) was shot and killed while on duty during the early hours of Monday morning (October 4) while travelling with a crew-mate in the Emabhalonini area of Mimosadale. Her crew-mate sustained three gunshot wounds and was rushed to hospital, where he remained in a critical condition on Monday.
READ THE INITIAL STORY HERE: Female paramedic killed during shooting in Mimosadale
According to Health Department spokesperson Agiza Hlongwane, the paramedics were ambushed while they were preparing to rush a patient who had been shot to hospital.
“The paramedics had already picked up a patient who had sustained a fractured leg and then had to detour to the home of the wounded man. After ‘securing’ him, they suddenly heard gunshots coming from outside. Ms Dlamini, who hailed from Greytown and was an Intermediate Life Support paramedic with 10 years’ service, was hit twice and died at the scene,” explained Mr Hlongwane.
The two patients in the ambulance were not injured in any way.
“Cartridges of high-calibre bullets, which were found at the scene, deepen the mystery of why innocent paramedics found themselves at the receiving end of such untold brutality,” added Mr Hlongwane.
Meanwhile, KZN Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane has called for swift justice, requesting that law enforcement officers ‘do everything possible to bring the perpetrators to book’.
“We’re told that Ms Dlamini had a daughter aged 21, who is at university, and two sons aged 19 and 12. She had a husband and had worked for the department for 10 years. What must her family do now that her life has been snuffed out so suddenly and so senselessly? We don’t even know whether her crew-mate will survive this attack; or, if he does, how his life will be from now on. We can only wish him a full and speedy recovery, while our healthcare practitioners attend to him. “These criminals are in our communities. Someone, somewhere, knows something about what they have done. That is why we are urging our people to bring forward any information that might lead to their arrest, so that they can be brought to book,” commented the MEC.
Police spokesperson Warrant Officer Basheer Khan confirmed that Estcourt police are investigating a case of murder, as well as four counts of attempted murder. No arrests have yet been made.
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