A 43-year-old police officer was shot dead near Jouberton, Klerksdorp, in the North West, during the early hours of Thursday morning after the vehicle he was conducting routine patrols in was attacked.
Reservist Constable Jabulani Njalinjali and two other officers were conducting patrols in the area of Uraniaville.
“At about 03:15, as the police officers were driving away from an Eskom Cable storage facility, their vehicle was unexpectedly shot at by unknown assailants,” police spokesperson Colonel Brenda Muridili said in a statement.
“Njalinjali was shot, and he succumbed to his injuries on the scene, while a sergeant was taken to hospital in a critical condition. The third member escaped the shooting incident unscathed.”
Njalinjali was attached to the Jouberton Crime Prevention Unit and had served the police for the past 18 years.
“The South African Police Service’s management has sent messages of condolences to the family of Njalinjali,” Muridili said. “The management of the province has afforded the members involved with a trauma debriefing from the Employee Health and Wellness.
“The provincial management will also afford the family of the deceased member all the necessary support during their time of bereavement and beyond.”