Western Cape SAPS Officer Killed With His Service Gun, SA Heartbroken

• A member of the South African Police Service lost his life while doing his job in the community
• The officer was attending a domestic violence complaint when the suspect allegedly took his gun and shot him dead
• His death saddened South Africans, who lamented the increasing rate of police officer murders in the country

Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News current affairs journalist in Johannesburg, South Africa, covered police investigations and court cases at Daily Sun for over three years.

MAMRE – A member of the South African Police Service was shot and killed while trying to respond to a domestic violence call in the small town of Mamre in the Western Cape.

Suspect kills Western Cape officer

SABC News reports that the officer attended an alleged domestic violence incident. He and the suspect got into an altercation when he arrived at the scene. The suspect took his gun and shot him, killing him. He then fled the scene.

Read also

Cape Flats mourn after 5 people tragically killed in mass shooting

The province's Minister of Police Oversight and Community Safety, Reagan Allen, slammed police officers' killings. He said those who attack or murder law enforcement officers are attacking the state and should face fitting charges. He also pleaded with community members to provide information about the suspect.

Netizens lament the death of officers

South Africans discussing the incident on Facebook were concerned that police killings are on the rise.

Mabhuti Njemla said:

"Criminals are free to do whatever they want in South Africa because they know that justice always fails."

Trevor Mthunzi Williams said:

"The cartels and mafia are in the police department. They start killing the officers who have info on them and make us believe it's a domestic issue."

Jacob Israel Rammusa asked:

"So the dude scuffled with the officer for his gun and won. Where was the officer's partner? Why couldn't the deceased open fire as soon as he noticed the suspect was an immediate danger?"

Read also

North West police officer shot dead during failed robbery, South Africans saddened

Jacky Mjika Mantsiu said:

"As usual, Bheki Cele will visit the deceased's family and give a lousy speech."

Vladimir Putin said:

"The government must take action against the killings of police."

Suspect allegedly kills off-duty North West police officer

In a similar incident, Briefly News reported that police are on the lookout for three suspects after one of them allegedly shot and killed a police officer in Rustenburg.

The officer was off-duty and was in a shop when the suspects demanded his money. He tried to disarm one of them, and the suspect shot him, wounding him fatally.

Source: Briefly News