A Polokwane police detective who was shot in the chest in front of his children at his home, managed to shoot and kill one of three alleged robbers.
Beeld reported that Constable Deon Jardim, 31, was preparing to take his two pre-school daughters to nursery school on Monday morning when he was confronted in his driveway by three men, one of whom had a gun, and another who was armed with a knife.
"One pointed a gun at me. He said 'shhh, shhh'," Jardim told Beeld.
A detective from the Seshego police department, he was not wearing his uniform at the time.
"I tried to turn sideways so that they wouldn't see the pistol in my holster."
The armed robber saw the gun, however, and shot Jardim in the chest.
"We were two metres apart. I pulled out my gun and shot back. I fired six shots and five of them hit him."
Police spokesman Captain Ntobeng Phala said the other two men ran away and the wounded assailant later died in hospital.
A neighbour drove Jardim to the Limpopo Mediclinic, where doctors stabilised him and told him that the bullet had missed his heart by a mere two centimetres.
Limpopo police spokeswoman Ronel Otto said a murder case had been opened.
"This is standard procedure. The investigation will determine whether or not there will be any prosecutions."
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