The Acting National Commissioner of the South African Police Service, Lieutenant General Bonang Mgwenya has in the strongest terms condemned the attack on two Wierdabrug police officers who were shot and injured in the early hours of 15 October 2019, while conducting patrols in their precinct.
It is reported that two police constables from Wierdabrug Police Station in Gauteng, were driving in a marked police vehicle conducting patrols when they noticed three bakkies approaching a red robot on the Old Pretoria Road in Valhalla.
The bakkie at the front did not stop at the red robot and then the members decided to pursue that bakkie but while they were driving past the other two bakkies, the occupants started shooting at their vehicle. The crew member sustained gunshot wounds to his leg and upper body while the driver’s head was graced by a bullet. Both members were rushed to hospital where the crew is in the intensive care unit and they are both said to be in a stable condition.
The Acting National Commissioner has wished the injured members a speedy recovery while praising the commitment they have shown by pursuing a suspicious vehicle that had just committed a road traffic offence. “I am relieved that these members have escaped such an attack with their lives. They are the calibre of police officers we need in our ranks as they did not dismiss a road traffic offense as petty. They did what they were supposed to do and followed the suspicious vehicle. Their bullet riddled patrol vehicle shows that there are people that still continue to undermining the authority of the state by attacking our members. We will hunt them down and bring them to book. We have to turn the tide against this heinous crime,” said Lt Gen Mgwenya who went on to instruct the province to implement the 72-Hour Activation plan to ensure that all role players are roped in to investigate and trace the perpetrators of this attack.
Anyone with information that can lead to the arrest of the perpetrators is requested to contact the SAPS Crime Stop number 08600 10111, all information received will be treated with confidentiality.
South Africa Today – South Africa News
