Passenger saw officer gunned down
A woman was close to tears as she recalled seeing a gunman firing several shots at a metro police vehicle and hitting one of the cop in the head.
|||Johannesburg - A woman was close to tears on Monday as she recalled seeing a gunman firing several shots at a metro police vehicle and hitting one of the officers in the head.
The woman said her heart sank as she saw the 36-year-old metro police officer slump forward in his seat, and the gunman and his accomplices fleeing and disappearing among the houses in Vlakfontein, south of Joburg.
The officers were at the time chasing the gunmen who had fled after being found in possession of a firearm when they were stopped on the Golden Highway in a routine speed-enforcement operation.
But when the officers went after the gunmen, Simon Sigasa was shot in the head.
Metro police spokeswoman Edna Mamonyane said Sigasa, who is in a critical condition, had to be airlifted to hospital. He underwent surgery late on MOnday.
Three of the gunmen were later found hiding in a shack at the back of one of the houses.
Said Mamonyane: “Residents told police where they were. They were arrested and the gun was confiscated. Two others are at large.”
The men were travelling in a silver Volvo 4x4 when they were stopped for speeding.
The 50-year-old woman, whose name cannot be published for safety reasons, and her brother were in a vehicle behind the Volvo at the time.
She said the Volvo had stopped when flagged down, but then suddenly sped off, nearly colliding with them as they turned left into Vlakfontein. The officers got into their car and gave chase, she said.
In one of the streets in Vlakfontein, the Volvo stopped and the woman said she saw all the doors open and five men jump out.
One of them had a gun, she said.
“He turned and started shooting at the police vehicle as it approached. The officer sitting in front fell forward.
“What I saw was painful, I don’t think I’ll ever forget it. Those men must be real criminals.”
Mamonyane said a female officer who had stopped the vehicle was speaking to the occupants when she spotted a gun inside.
The officer allegedly grabbed it and the men sped off. Her two colleagues gave chase and that’s when Sigasa was shot, she said.
Mamonyane said the Volvo had been cloned.
There was a similar vehicle with the same registration, same make, colour and licence disc, which was with its rightful owner, while everything on this one was false.
botho.molosankwe@inl.co.za
The Star