Four men who shot a police officer dead and injured two others in Rosebank, Johannesburg, on Friday struck again later in Fourways, police said.
Earlier on Friday, police were following up on a report of a suspicious vehicle parked in a bay on the corner of Walters and the busy Jan Smuts avenues, but when they slowed down at the site, four gunmen suddenly opened fire on them.
One metro police officer died and another metro police officer and a South African Police Service (SAPS) officer were critically injured.
The gang sped off in a red Nissan 1400 bakkie and a white Volkswagen Polo.
Police spokesperson Sergeant Sanku Tsunke said the gunmen then picked up the trail of a man who had collected money at an American Express outlet in Rosebank and followed him all the way to Fourways.
Once in Fourways, they opened fire again and the man jumped out of his vehicle and ran away. The gunmen jumped into the vehicle and sped off, Tsunke said.
”The police are very upset by this and everyone is looking for them,” said Tsunke.
Rosebank shooting
Referring to the shooting in Rosebank, metro police spokesperson Edna Mamonyane said: ”Two of my officers have been gunned down.”
She said the police were alerted of the suspicious vehicle earlier in the day and drove there to investigate.
They slowed down at the intersection of Walters and Jan Smuts when, says Mamonyane, they were suddenly raked with bullets from behind.
The reported car had been in a parking bay near the intersection.
”They surrounded the patrol car and started shooting through the windows. Two metro policemen were hit and were very critical and one SAPS officer was hit.”
One of the metro police officers was taken to the nearby Rosebank clinic and the other two officers to Park Lane clinic.
”Unfortunately, one metro policeman died on the way to hospital,” she said. ”He had been wearing his bulletproof vest but they shot at him through the window and hit him at the top where the bulletproof vest ends.”
AK-47 and R5 rifles were used.
Police are investigating. — Sapa