SowetanLive reports that national police commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola says the shooters responsible for killing three police officers in two separate incidents over the weekend were clearly well trained in handling firearms.

“In both instances, you can see that the criminals are well-trained in the use of firearms because they shot in the head. Even [in the incident of] Sgt Lawrence Mtsweni, they shot him in the head. You can just imagine shooting in the head in darkness and finding where the head is ... this shows we are dealing with somebody who knows what he’s doing,” Masemola commented. He cautioned officers looking for the suspects to be careful and to know whom they were dealing with. Masemola was speaking during a visit to Mtsweni’s family in Mpumalanga on Sunday. Mtsweni was among a group of police officers who were responding to a business robbery at Usave shopping centre at Schoemansdal when he was shot on Saturday morning.

On Friday, WO Vuyisile Sintwa, a detective attached to the Joburg trio task team, and Sgt Simon Masenye died after being shot by Zimbabwean national Thabang Moyo. At the time of the murder, they were transporting him from the Roodepoort Magistrate’s Court. One suspect has been arrested for Mtsweni’s murder. Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union spokesperson Richard Mamabolo said the ongoing killing of police officers was a deeply concerning and painful reality for the union.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Mandla Khoza & Jeanette Chabalala at TimesLIVE

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