Cape Town – An Eastern Cape traffic official was shot dead when four armed suspects attacked a team conducting vehicle checkpoints in KwaDwesi, Gqeberha.
Police spokesperson, Colonel Priscilla Naidu said in a statement that the three officials were on duty when they were attacked at 10:40 on Wednesday morning.
They were robbed of their service pistols.
“While the male official was standing on the road, one female was busy writing out a summons and the deceased female was seated in the driver’s seat busy with documentation when four males walked towards the (male) traffic official that was standing on the road. They pointed a firearm at him and disarmed him,” Naidu said.
She said that the deceased was shot before she could react to the situation.
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“When the traffic official who was seated in the vehicle attempted to react after seeing what had happened, she was shot in her chest. Her firearm was also taken,” said Naidu.
The suspects allegedly fled the scene on foot.
The Eastern Cape department of transport identified the deceased officer as Sonica Esmeralda Smith, 42, reported TimesLIVE.
The report said that Smith survived by her three children.
She had been a traffic official for the past 14 years.
“She had a bubbly personality and was always willing to assist fellow colleagues. As one of the senior officers, she was regarded as a mentor by some of her colleagues. She was an organised person and a good administrator as well,” the report quoted Sarah Baartman district manager, Bukiwe Ncipa-Wali as saying.
A case of murder and robbery aggravated was being investigated by police.
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Compiled by Olwethu Mpeshe
