Tshwane man shot and killed by metro police in clash over illegal connections
The Tshwane metro police has launched an internal investigation into the fatal shooting of a community member at the hands of an officer.
The incident unfolded on Tuesday when police clashed with locals in Leeufontein, near Baviaanspoort, over illegal electricity connections.
Law enforcement had successfully removed illegal cables and transformers with an estimated value of R800 000, but were later called back to the area when they received a complaint that community members were reconnecting the illegal connections.
"The crowd became unruly when they saw the officers and the TMPD members had to call for backup. When the backup arrived, the crowd became more aggressive and threw stones at the TMPD members and their vehicles," spokesperson Isaac Mahamba explains.
"The officers tried to disperse the crowd by firing rubber bullets. The crowd ran in different directions. When the crowd was cleared, one community member was lying unresponsive on the ground. It was discovered that he had been hit with a rubber bullet and unfortunately died instantly."
He further confirmed a case of murder had been opened.
The identity of the man is being withheld until the family has been notified.
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