A 36-year-old Metro police officer was killed. (Provided by JMPD)
A 36-year-old Metro police officer was killed during a shootout with suspects in the Johannesburg CBD on Friday evening.
Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) officer Vongani Desmond Hlungwane was on patrol with other officers from the undercover unit when they received a tip-off about suspects in an alleged robbery.
JMPD Security Ambassador and Public Safety Spokesman Wayne Minnaar said officers saw the suspects leaving a store on Claim Street in Joubert Park and followed them on foot to Wolmarans Street.
“There was a shootout between the officers and the suspects, and Hlungwane was shot in the upper body, head and leg,” he said.
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The Metro police officer was rushed to the Garden City Clinic by emergency services, but was pronounced dead at the hospital.
According to Minnaar, the shooting came in the wake of JMPD’s efforts to recover illegal firearms and arrest suspects in light of recent mass shootings.
MMC for Johannesburg Public Safety, Councilor David Tembe has condemned the incident.
No suspects have yet been arrested.
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