Police are investigating two cases of attempted murder after an Ethiopian national, suspected of business robbery, allegedly shot two police officers in Bellville on Wednesday night.
Police spokesperson Colonel Andrè Traut said the incident happened shortly before 10pm along the Vlei Road while the officers, stationed in Bellville South, were in pursuit of the perpetrator wanted in connected with a case from Khayelitsha.
“At around 9:45 pm a 36-year-old sergeant and a 28-year-old constable approached a suspect who was sought for a Lingelethu West business robbery, in Vlei Road Bellville with the intention to arrest him,“ said Traut.
Traut said during an altercation with the perpetrator, both police officers were shot and wounded and admitted to hospital for treatmen.
“They are both in a stable condition. The wanted suspect, a 31-year-old Ethiopian male was also shot, wounded and subsequently arrested.
“He is being detained on charges of attempted murder, possession of a prohibited firearm and ammunition and business robbery, and will make his court appearance in Bellville once he has been discharged from hospital. The suspect’s firearm without a serial number was confiscated,” he concluded.
This latest shooting involving police officers, comes weeks after Constable Donay Phillips was killed at the Somerset Hospital when a former policeman disarmed the officer and opened fire.
Jean-Paul Malgas, a former police officer who was arrested for the matter, is expected back in court on June 30.