Police officer killed while responding to domestic violence call

A 33-year-old police officer was shot and killed while attending to a domestic violence call in Sandton on Thursday night.

Constable Percy Ramalepe is survived by three children and a wife.

Police spokesperson Birg Vish Naidoo said the officer and his partner attended to a  complaint at Hluhluwe Street in Sandton.

“When they arrived at the complainant's premises, they noticed a man approximately   60 years of age standing in the driveway behind a locked security gate. They asked the suspect to open the gate and he went inside the house and opened the gate but remained in the house,” Naidoo said.

He said both officers walked up to the driveway leading to the house where the constable met with the complainant and interviewed her.

“The suspect fired a shot at the constable with a shotgun killing him immediately. The suspect immediately took hold of the deceased constable's firearm and and fatally shot himself,” Naidoo said.

The officer’s death comes a few days after Police Minister Bheki Cele announced a decrease in serious violent crimes during the first week of the national lockdown.

Cele also said he was concerned about the high number of gender-based violence complaints the police received in the same period.

“Over 2,300 calls or complaints have been registered since the beginning of the lockdown from March 27 until March 31 and from these, 148 suspects were charged," he said.

The figure in relation to calls and complaints between January and March 31 stands at 15,924.

"Once all reports have been consolidated, the figures will be measured against the number of calls and complaints received through the GBV Command Centre in 2019, where the figure stands at 87,920," said Cele.