Johannesburg

Monday

A few showers. More clouds than sun. Mild.

14°C
23°C

7 day forecasts

Cop dies in hail of bullets

2008-10-23 07:41

Francois Oosthuizen

Johannesburg - On Wednesday a group of men chased down a police van in which their arrested comrade was being transported, shot the police officer and freed their mate.

Inspector Andries van Tonder, 42, father of two children, was shot six times, including in the head.

"I'm very sad and very angry," said his wife, Yvonne. She was highly emotional on Wednesday and was being supported by family and friends. "It's especially difficult for Anrika, nine, and Eugene, 12."

Police spokesperson Superintendent Lungelo Dlamini, said Van Tonder and another policeman arrested a suspect on the corner of Sixth Avenue and Fifth Street in Bezuidenhout Valley, Johannesburg.

"They searched him and found an AK-47 assault rifle on him.

"He was arrested and taken to the Jeppe Street charge office." En route to the police station a green Audi started pursuing the police vehicle. The occupants of the Audi opened fire on the police on the corner of Sixth Avenue and Fourth Street.

About 50m down the road Van Tonder lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a tree on the pavement.

Collapsed on the scene

The three men freed their mate in the police vehicle and fled the scene.

An eyewitness who didn't want to be identified, said she ran outside when she heard the gunfire.

"The deceased still opened the car door, but then he just collapsed.

"An innocent life was taken for nothing."

Van Tonder said her husband was a loving partner and a good father to their children.

"He worked in the police for 17 years. His colleagues often said he was too much of a perfectionist in his work."

The other policeman was not injured.

An extensive search for the four suspects has been launched.

- Beeld

inside news24

Cpt: 15-24°C Sunny. Mild. Pta: 15-25°C A few showers. Morning clouds. Mild.
Jhb: 14-23°C A few showers. More clouds than sun. Mild. Bloem: 10-26°C Sunny. Pleasantly warm.
Dbn: 15-18°C Light rain. More clouds than sun. Cool. PE: 13-18°C A few showers. More sun than clouds. Mild.
7 day forecasts...
Western Cape Eastern Cape Kwazulu Natal Gauteng

Christiana - 19:01:07 PM Major roadworks at two construction areas between Christiana and Wolmaranstad - stop / go controls are in operation at both locations with waiting times of up to 20 minutes at each control More traffic reports...

Here are the winning Lotto numbers from the Saturday, November 14 draw.

3, 11, 19, 29, 35, 36  Bonus 27

Lotto plus: 1, 18, 23, 28, 30, 33 Bonus 43

SMS the word Lotto to 31222 to get lotto numbers sent directly to your phone.
More lotto numbers...

Jobs - Find your dream job

QA / Tester

Western Cape - Cape Town
Quiglies Solutions
R20,000-22,000 Per Month Cost To Company

Estimator

Gauteng
Master Career Consulting

Administrator

Gauteng - Pretoria
Kanimambo

Cars - Search 1000's of new and used cars

AUDI

2008 A4 1.8T Multitronics from R 269 000

VOLKSWAGEN

Touran 1.9 TDi Trendline MPV Dsl
2005
R 139,995.00

AUDI

TT Roadster 2.0 TFSi S-Tronic
2008
R 409,260.00

AUDI

A4 2.0T FSi Ambition 132kW MY09
2009
R 378,480.00

Property - Find a new home

LITTLE FALLS

Single Residential R5,200,000

WILRO PARK EXT 2

Single Residential R2,200,000

HEATHER PARK

Single Residential R2,950,000

Travel - Look, Book, Go!

Free Games - TOO MUCH NEWS? TAKE A BREAK!