By TEMBILE SGQOLANA, BONGANI FUZILE and SIKHO NTSHOBANE
The slaughter of five police officers and a retired soldier in Ngcobo yesterday morning was the second attack on the station in less than a year.
Police now believe the gang that struck in March last year could be the same one that carried out yesterday’s deadly attack.
But unlike the March attack, where one officer was wounded and an undisclosed number of guns stolen, the assailants in yesterday’s attack left a trail of dead bodies in their wake.
The unknown gunmen stormed the police station and opened fire, instantly killing three officers. They then separated female police officers from their male counterparts.
Then, after robbing the station of six pistols, two shotguns and two assault rifles, they killed a retired soldier. After that they hijacked a police car with two officers in it. The officers were shot dead execution style and their bodies dumped near Nyanga High School, about 6km from the station in the CBD.
Before attacking the police station, the gunmen had bombed an ATM in town.
The attack, believed to be the deadliest of its kind in South Africa, has sent shockwaves around the country, with politicians, police unions, civil society groupings and the banking and farming sectors condemning it as a “national crisis”.
Police have launched a massive manhunt as they work with the community to arrest the gunmen.
Police Minister Fikile Mbalula, who described the mass killing as a “rude awakening to government to ensure that police are protected inside police stations”, gave his officers 72 hours to bring the killers to book.
A police source said: “This is the second time that this is happening here in Ngcobo police station, and I suspect it is the same suspects who came back to continue with this.
“When this happened last year, the community said they needed more police officers, but that never happened and look at what is happening today.” At the station yesterday, all officers who had been on duty with their slain colleagues were being interviewed by national investigators assigned to the case.
“They won’t be released soon as they are getting counselling and they are also being questioned by the officers,” said a police source.
Eastern Cape police spokesman Captain Khaya Tonjeni said: “Three of the police officers were instantly killed in the police community service centre. As the suspects were fleeing, they shot a retired soldier dead and made off with one of the police vans, taking two members with them. Two other officers who were on duty were injured and taken to hospital. They were discharged in a stable condition.”
Tonjeni confirmed that 10 guns had been taken.
“Approximately 6km from the police station along the road, the bodies of both the officers were found with gunshot wounds. The state vehicle has been recovered,” he said.
A shocked Mbalula said: “There must be cameras inside police stations and security guards at the gate. Fit metal detectors inside so that police can be ready when perpetrators enter and not die like flies.”
He assured Ngcobo residents that the police station would not be closed. “We are aggrieved and shocked by the men came and shot our members here.
“Their killing will not be in vain,” Mbalula said.
National police commissioner General Kehla John Sithole said a national multidisciplinary investigative task team, backed by a special tracking team, had been formed.
“They sent us an invitation; we are going to send a response. We want them dead or alive,” he said.
ANC Eastern Cape chairman Oscar Mabuyane said the fact that the attack was not the first time the station was hit by armed gunmen shows that the attack was well planned.
He urged the Ngcobo community to work with police to ensure that the perpetrators were arrested.
The town came to a standstill as hundreds of residents lined up in the streets leading to the police station, while police crime experts combed the scene for clues.
Several residents and business owners called on the government to employ more police officers at the station to prevent them from being ambushed by armed criminals again.
Spargs Superspar store manager Barry Howlett said his business had been hit by armed robbers late last year, resulting in the death of one person.
“This town has become a hotspot for armed robberies and crime in general. We need a strong police presence, especially during the day.”
Another resident, Zandisile Xhokashe, whose cousin is a police officer at the Ngcobo police station, said he had frantically rushed to town after hearing what had happened, fearing for his cousin’s life.
“I am only breathing a sigh of relief now after discovering that he is safe, but what happened here was really painful.”
Zoleka Mthamo called for SANDF soldiers to be deployed to the rural town.
The South African Banking Risk Information Centre, Agri Eastern Cape and Popcru condemned the police killings. — thembiles@dispatch.co.za, sikhon@dispatch.co.za, BonganiF@dispatch.co.za
FIVE COPS, EX-SOLDIER KILLED IN MASSACRE
The slaughter of five police officers and a retired soldier in Ngcobo yesterday morning was the second attack on the station in less than a year.
Police now believe the gang that struck in March last year could be the same one that carried out yesterday’s deadly attack.
But unlike the March attack, where one officer was wounded and an undisclosed number of guns stolen, the assailants in yesterday’s attack left a trail of dead bodies in their wake.
The unknown gunmen stormed the police station and opened fire, instantly killing three officers. They then separated female police officers from their male counterparts.
Then, after robbing the station of six pistols, two shotguns and two assault rifles, they killed a retired soldier. After that they hijacked a police car with two officers in it. The officers were shot dead execution style and their bodies dumped near Nyanga High School, about 6km from the station in the CBD.
Before attacking the police station, the gunmen had bombed an ATM in town.
The attack, believed to be the deadliest of its kind in South Africa, has sent shockwaves around the country, with politicians, police unions, civil society groupings and the banking and farming sectors condemning it as a “national crisis”.
Police have launched a massive manhunt as they work with the community to arrest the gunmen.
Police Minister Fikile Mbalula, who described the mass killing as a “rude awakening to government to ensure that police are protected inside police stations”, gave his officers 72 hours to bring the killers to book.
A police source said: “This is the second time that this is happening here in Ngcobo police station, and I suspect it is the same suspects who came back to continue with this.
“When this happened last year, the community said they needed more police officers, but that never happened and look at what is happening today.” At the station yesterday, all officers who had been on duty with their slain colleagues were being interviewed by national investigators assigned to the case.
“They won’t be released soon as they are getting counselling and they are also being questioned by the officers,” said a police source.
Eastern Cape police spokesman Captain Khaya Tonjeni said: “Three of the police officers were instantly killed in the police community service centre. As the suspects were fleeing, they shot a retired soldier dead and made off with one of the police vans, taking two members with them. Two other officers who were on duty were injured and taken to hospital. They were discharged in a stable condition.”
Tonjeni confirmed that 10 guns had been taken.
“Approximately 6km from the police station along the road, the bodies of both the officers were found with gunshot wounds. The state vehicle has been recovered,” he said.
A shocked Mbalula said: “There must be cameras inside police stations and security guards at the gate. Fit metal detectors inside so that police can be ready when perpetrators enter and not die like flies.”
He assured Ngcobo residents that the police station would not be closed. “We are aggrieved and shocked by the men came and shot our members here.
“Their killing will not be in vain,” Mbalula said.
National police commissioner General Kehla John Sithole said a national multidisciplinary investigative task team, backed by a special tracking team, had been formed.
“They sent us an invitation; we are going to send a response. We want them dead or alive,” he said.
ANC Eastern Cape chairman Oscar Mabuyane said the fact that the attack was not the first time the station was hit by armed gunmen shows that the attack was well planned.
He urged the Ngcobo community to work with police to ensure that the perpetrators were arrested.
The town came to a standstill as hundreds of residents lined up in the streets leading to the police station, while police crime experts combed the scene for clues.
Several residents and business owners called on the government to employ more police officers at the station to prevent them from being ambushed by armed criminals again.
Spargs Superspar store manager Barry Howlett said his business had been hit by armed robbers late last year, resulting in the death of one person.
“This town has become a hotspot for armed robberies and crime in general. We need a strong police presence, especially during the day.”
Another resident, Zandisile Xhokashe, whose cousin is a police officer at the Ngcobo police station, said he had frantically rushed to town after hearing what had happened, fearing for his cousin’s life.
“I am only breathing a sigh of relief now after discovering that he is safe, but what happened here was really painful.”
Zoleka Mthamo called for SANDF soldiers to be deployed to the rural town.
The South African Banking Risk Information Centre, Agri Eastern Cape and Popcru condemned the police killings. — thembiles@dispatch.co.za, sikhon@dispatch.co.za, BonganiF@dispatch.co.za
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