A police officer was killed inside the Motherwell magistrate's court in Gqeberha after a man disarmed him and shot him with his own service pistol.
The suspect was wounded in a shoot-out with police when he was caught inside a minibus taxi.
Police spokesperson Brig Athlenda Mathe said the suspect entered the magistrate’s court on Wednesday morning at about 9.20am.
“[The suspect] disarmed the member, shot and killed him with the state firearm and fled on foot,” she said.
The officer, 42, was a sergeant who worked as a court orderly, she said.
The armed suspect was spotted by a taxi driver who alerted a police anti-gang unit on patrol that the man was in the vehicle with the pistol.
4/ The driver informed the SAPS members that the passenger in the backseat was in possession of a firearm and had just hijacked him. As the SAPS members drove towards the taxi, the passenger stood up, leaned out of the rear left window, and began shooting at them. pic.twitter.com/gEHuFiihs2
— Ian Cameron (@IanCameron23) May 3, 2023
The suspect opened fire at the police officers and a shoot-out ensued, Mathe said. The suspect was wounded and transported to hospital under police guard.
“Police recovered the member’s firearm. Commuters in the taxi at the time were not injured during the crossfire,” she said.
Meanwhile, a manhunt continues for a group of armed suspects who shot dead a police sergeant in East London this week.
The officer, 41, responded to an armed robbery at the premises of Fidelity on Monday when he was shot, said Mathe. He had been working for SAPS for 14 years and was part of the public order policing unit in East London.
“[National police commissioner] Gen Fannie Masemola has ordered the mobilisation of resources to apprehend those responsible for the death of [the] sergeant.”
Mathe said the identities of the two deceased officers are being withheld until their next of kin are notified.
Masemola condemned the incidents and said police would continue to mobilise resources to fight serious and violent crime.
“We cannot have a situation where members are killed in a court of law and while responding to the call of duty. Our condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of our fallen heroes. The SAPS continues to prioritise acquiring additional resources and equipment to heighten police response to fight serious and violent crime,” said Masemola.
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