Six killed In South African Shooting, Five Police Officers And One Soldier

Six killed In South African Shooting, Five Police Officers And One Soldier

Six people, including five police officers, have been shot dead during an attack on a police station in South Africa’s eastern Cape.

The officers and an off-duty soldier were killed in Nqcobo, about 800km southeast of Johannesburg, police spokesman Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo said.

“This incident happened in the early hours of the morning when armed robbers, or what we suspect is armed robbers, entered the station and randomly opened fire on the police officers on duty,” Mr Naidoo told eNCA news channel.

The gunmen also shot a bystander who turned out to be an off-duty soldier as they fled in a stolen police vehicle, Mr Naidoo said.

South African police minister Fikile Mbalula called the attack a national tragedy.

“The killing of our law enforcement officers robs us of dedicated servants of our people, whose only sin was to serve and protect,” Mr Mbalula said on Twitter.

South Africa has one of the highest crime rates in the world.

Reuters