Off-duty metro cop murdered in Hillbrow

An off-duty Johannesburg metro policeman was murdered in Hillbrow on Thursday afternoon.

Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) spokesperson Wayne Minnaar said the officer‚ from the recovery unit‚ was on foot when he was shot several times in the upper body.

The incident took place at about 3pm. He was declared dead on the scene.

One suspect was arrested in the basement in a building near the crime scene in Claim Street. A second suspect remains at large and the murder weapon remains missing.

Minnaar said the officer’s gun was the only thing stolen.

“At this stage this crime is still very fresh‚ so all the possibilities will be investigated‚” he said.

Police spokesperson captain Kay Makhubele thanked the community for identifying where the suspect was hiding whom they arrested.

“We are continuing throughout the night until we get the [second] suspect.”

Joburg mayor Herman Mashaba said in a statement that two community members had helped track down the suspects after they had fled into a building.

“The community members assisted police by pointing out the suspects’ hiding place within the building. Unfortunately‚ one of the community members was injured in the process by unsafe glass within the building.”

Mashaba said the apprehended suspect claimed to be from Mpumalanga and said he was helped by a Zimbabwean in perpetrating the crime.

Mashaba believes that law enforcement in the city needs to be re-examined.

"As we apprehend these criminals‚ justice must be done."

Johannesburg community safety MEC Michael Sun called the murder "totally unacceptable".

"We have about 400 JMPD officers‚ 100 metro cars‚ we will find the second suspect before we leave here."

JMPD chief David Tembe said: "Our target is that if you shoot a law enforcement officer‚ within two hours they must be behind bars."

This is a developing story.