Emotional farewell to slain cop
2008-07-18 09:39
Cape Town - The mother of a murdered police inspector collapsed at a memorial service for her son on Thursday morning, just metres from where he was shot.
"My mom! My mom," Reinier Nell, brother of slain policeman Lukas Nell, shouted after grabbing his mom, Hester, as she collapsed in New Church Street, Tamboerskloof.
Inspector Nell was shot in the street on Tuesday morning as he and a colleague were apprehending a suspect.
A large crowd gathered around Hester before she was loaded into an ambulance and rushed to Somerset Hospital.
New Church, Park and Milner Roads were closed off as more than 300 people paid their last respects to Nell.
Police chaplain Christopher Horn, quoted from Psalm 23, and said: "Lukas thought he would be going home after his shift, but in reality he was walking through the valley of the shadow of death."
His widow, Karen Nell, burst into tears after placing a wreath at the spot where her husband was killed.
Gave everything for the community
"My husband would give everything for the community, and he did," she said, holding her daughter tightly. A visibly distraught Nikita, 14, was the only one of the couple's three children to attend the service. Their sons Marnus, 5, and Marnu, 4, stayed home.
Police officials and members of the community also placed flowers on the pavement. Some of Nell's colleague's described him as "humble" and "honest".
"If someone as good as Lukas dies, what's the point of us doing this work," a colleague of his wanted to know.
"We are on the lookout for the murderer every day," said Carol Kroon, a Tamboerskloof resident.
Horn once again gave Nell's family and the community a guarantee that the murderer would be caught.
Nell's mother is reportedly in a stable condition. The family has decided not to release further details of her condition to the media.