Tributes honouring police officer, Constable Asanda Siyoko, 30, poured in when news broke that she was shot and killed on Tuesday night, June 9, during a patrol in Crossroads, Nyanga.
National Police Commissioner, General Khehla John Sitole, said in a statement that Constable Siyoko and her colleagues came under fire while patrolling at a spaza shop contravening the Disaster Risk Management Regulations.
“They went in to investigate in terms of the Disaster Management Regulations when a man emerged from behind them and started shooting at the members. The constable was seriously wounded and she died later on,” said he said.
Other police members fired shots at the fleeing suspect. He fell a short distance away from the scene and was transported to a medical facility. The suspect, who is 22 years old, remains in hospital under police guard.
“It is disheartening when those who are entrusted to protect communities are attacked while executing their duties,” said Generl Sitole.
Investigations into this shooting continued and two other suspects, aged 24 and 28 respectively, were subsequently arrested.