Four men aged between 21 and 37 have been arrested in connection with the fatal stabbing of an off-duty police officer on Christmas Day.
The four stand accused of stabbing to death a 33-year-old police constable who had been stationed at Lingelethu West police station in Khayelitsha.
In a statement issued to the media, police said the stabbing took place in Asanda Village, Llwandle, at about 6.30am on Sunday December 25. The constable sustained several stab and gunshots wounds and died at the crime scene.
After preliminary investigation, by the Hawks' National Priority Violent Crimes team, detectives and crime scene experts, it was established that he had also been robbed of his service pistol and a cellphone.
Investigations also revealed that before being robbed, he had fired several shots at his attackers and in the process had injured one who was then taken to Helderberg Hospital and later transferred to Tygerberg Hospital for further medical examination.
During the interview, the investigating team arrested the injured person and a multi-disciplinary team was put together to trace the other suspects and the police officer's firearm. Later that day, the other three were apprehended and the constable’s firearm recovered.
The four suspects are due appear in Strand Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday December 28.