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The  9mm pistol that was found inside the Nissan Tiida of the suspect and confiscated by the Makhado Police as part of their investigation. Photo: Limpopo Police Communications.

Injured constable on the road to recovery

 

A 27-year-old man accused of shooting a police constable of the Makhado SAPS was declared healthy enough to appear in court on Tuesday. Sadly, the same could not be said of the injured constable.

At the time of the suspect’s court appearance, the injured constable was still recovering in hospital. He was scheduled to undergo surgery to remove a bullet that was still lodged in his arm.

“The suspect shot and injured the member before crashing the stolen vehicle he was driving. It is believed [he] was picked up by a certain Ford Ranger,” said provincial police spokesperson Brig Motlafela Mojapelo. He confirmed that the Nissan Tiida had recently been reported stolen from the Westenburg policing area in Polokwane.

The suspect will be charged with attempted murder, stemming the shooting incident in which the off-duty constable was shot at point-blank range. The incident happened during the early hours of Saturday morning. According to Mojapelo, the suspect had allegedly skipped a red traffic light in Krogh Street in Louis Trichardt. The police constable saw this and pursued the suspect in his private vehicle.

At some stage, the constable managed to get the suspect to pull over from the road. It is unclear if an argument arose between them before the suspect opened fire on the constable with a 9mm pistol, hitting him in the arm. The suspect then fled the scene and, shortly afterwards, crashed the stolen Tiida. Apart from later confirming that the Tiida had been stolen, the police also recovered a 9mm pistol with the serial numbers filed off from the crashed vehicle.  

On Sunday, the police received information that the suspect had been admitted to hospital, possibly as a result of his accident. They tracked him down at Elim Hospital and immediately placed the man under arrest.

Mojapelo confirmed that the suspect is being linked to several vehicle-theft cases committed across the Limpopo Province. It is for this reason that the suspect’s name and photo has not been released, as he is expected to stand for several identification parades. In addition, it is alleged that the suspect pretended to be a police officer himself to explain the constant change in the vehicles he was driving. 

 

Date:05 February 2017

By: Isabel Venter

Isabel joined the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror in 2009 as a reporter. She holds a BA Degree in Communication Sciences from the University of South Africa. Her beat is mainly crime and court reporting.

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