There are too many guns floating around South Africa, President Jacob Zuma said on Wednesday.
”Many people are killed as result of these guns,” Zuma said at the launch of the presidential hotline in Pretoria.
He said once criminals pulled out a gun, they were going to shoot to kill.
”A policeman shouted three times to a criminal to drop the gun and he was shot dead,” he said, referring to the death of Brooklyn police Captain Charl Scheepers, who was shot dead on Saturday night.
Zuma said in other countries criminals broke into houses, stole and fled, while in South Africa they broke in and waited for the owner to come home. Then they demanded keys to the safe, and if the owner refused to hand them over, the criminals killed them.
”There are many guns floating around and many people are killed. Everyone with a gun becomes a hero, even the cowards,” said the emotionally charged Zuma.
”We cannot let innocent people be killed.”
Last month, Zuma met police commissioners from all the provinces, where he made a call for police to shoot to kill.
”My thinking is once a criminal takes out their gun the intent is clear … police must then act to protect themselves and the innocents,” Zuma said at the time.
He added that the duty of police was to protect all people, but when their lives and the lives of innocent people were threatened, they had no choice but to use force.
This was not intended to encourage a culture of trigger-happy police officers, he said. — Sapa