Situation tense in Engcobo as police search for cop killers
The situation remained tense in Engcobo‚ Eastern Cape‚ as some of the businesses in the area were not able to operate‚ as High Road was cordoned off to investigate the murder of five policemen and one retired soldier.
The Engcobo Pharmacy‚ which is opposite the police station in High Street‚ was only able to open at 11am as the main road had been closed off since the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Five Ngcobo police officers in the EC have been killed after unknown gunmen stormed into the police station. All firearms have been stolen. #sabcnews pic.twitter.com/gQvtqsVVha
— Zimkhita Manqinana (@ZManqinana) February 21, 2018
A man at the pharmacy who asked not to be named said a number of shops in High Street could not open on time because of the police cordon‚ which was removed later in the morning. He said the area had not experienced any robbery in the past few months.
Crime statistics for the area showed that 22 robberies were recorded between April 2016 and March 2017‚ an increase from 12 incidents in the previous year.
The area also recorded 17 robberies at non-residential premises from April 2016 to March 2017‚ a decrease from the 24 robberies recorded between April 2015 and March 2016.
Gunmen killed seven people in an attack on Engcobo police station in Ngcobo, Eastern Cape, on February 21 2018.
READ MORE
South Africa 'We now live in fear': man shocked after friend killed in police station attack 6 years ago |