Overview
- The two officers who responded to a reported armed attack on a spaza shop were found fatally shot on Friday in Ziphunzana Location, Libode near Mthatha.
- The victims were members of the Mthatha National Intervention Unit and Mthatha Public Order Policing Unit, aged 51 and 30, and their names will be released after next-of-kin are notified.
- Investigators found a cordless grinder at the scene that may have been used to cut the shop’s burglar door and confirmed both officers' service pistols are missing.
- The South African Police Service in the Eastern Cape has opened a multi-disciplinary probe, classified the case as murder and robbery of police firearms, activated a 72-hour plan, and urged the public to report tips via Crime Stop or the MySAPS App.
- Spaza shops are frequent robbery targets and the theft of service pistols raises concern that the firearms could enter criminal circulation, increasing risks for local communities and police operations.