An officer attached to the National Intervention Unit was ambushed by a gunman in the Eastern Cape. (Halden Krog/The Times/Gallo Images)
- A police officer was shot at in Mthatha on Friday morning.
- The National Intervention Unit officer, who was on his way to work at the time, was not injured.
- The attack comes days after a suspected extortionist and two others were killed in a shootout with an NIU squad.
A National Intervention Unit (NIU) officer was ambushed in Mthatha, only days after a suspected extortionist was killed in a shootout with the unit.
On Friday morning, the 42-year-old warrant officer was on his way to work in his vehicle when a man started shooting at him.
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“The member immediately stopped his vehicle and retaliated and the suspect fled on foot. Police swiftly responded and, on investigation, they later arrested the 45-year-old suspect,” said police spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Siphokazi Mawisa.
Mawisa added that the police officer was unharmed.
The alleged shooter sustained injuries and was taken to hospital. The man is expected to appear in the Mthatha Magistrate’s Court soon on an attempted murder charge.
When pressed as to whether police believe the attack was in retaliation for the shootout earlier this week, Mawisa said a link had not been made between the two incidents because the cause of the attack was still under investigation.
On Wednesday afternoon, three people were killed and a police officer was wounded during the shootout at the NIU base in Mthatha at around 16:30.
READ | Crime-plagued Mthatha residents celebrate death of suspected extortionist, traditional leader
The NIU had been involved in an operation and was returning to their base at the Embassy Building in Mthatha when they realised they were being tailed. As officers arrived at the Embassy Building, the two vehicles stopped behind them. Three armed men got out and opened fire. Police retaliated, killing the three men.
News24 previously reported that one of the three men was controversial Mthatha West traditional leader Nkosi Dalinzolo Mareke, who was said to be “a person of interest in several incidents of extortion in the Mthatha area”.
A police officer was injured and rushed to hospital.
