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Security Officers Arrested After Attacking Motorist, Firing Shots in Mpumalanga

Tshepiso Mofokeng — Fri, 07 Nov 2025 04:40:58 +0000

Four private security officers in Mpumalanga have been arrested after allegedly attacking a motorist at Nhlazatshe Crossing in Elukwatini earlier this week. The men now face charges including attempted murder, intimidation, and malicious damage to property.

The incident happened on Monday when the officers stopped a man’s vehicle and demanded to search it. When the driver refused, a heated argument broke out.

According to police, the officers began throwing stones at his car and then fired multiple shots in his direction. The man managed to escape unharmed and reported the incident to authorities, prompting an immediate manhunt.

Police arrested the four suspects later that same day. They were identified as Phumlani Muzi Nene, 31, Mongameli Xaba, 29, Mhlengu Shange, 32, and Siyabonga Zondo, 29.

During the arrests, officers recovered four firearms, including two semi-automatic rifles, a shotgun, a pistol, and 104 rounds of live ammunition. Police said the quick arrests were made possible through coordinated work between several specialised units.

The suspects appeared in the Chief Albert Luthuli Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday and were remanded in custody. They are expected to return to court on 12 November for their formal bail application.

The acting provincial police commissioner praised the officers who handled the case, saying their actions showed that accountability applies to everyone, regardless of their job or uniform. He added that misuse of authority will not be tolerated.

Police also called on private security companies to ensure their employees operate within the law and avoid any form of abuse of power. Investigations into the incident are still ongoing.

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Multi-agency operation nets illegal weapons cache

Student Journalism — Mon, 13 Oct 2025 16:21:39 +0000

By Lwandile Hlekwayo

A month-long intelligence operation has resulted in the seizure of three unlicensed firearms and 78 rounds of ammunition, and the arrest of 37-year-old Matthew Reece at a Palm Lakes residence.

Reece faces charges of possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition. Ilembe Crime Intelligence tracked the suspect throughout September after receiving a tip-off about unlicensed firearms. Once they verified the information, they successfully applied for a search warrant from the KwaDukuza Magistrate’s Court.

The Thursday operation brought together five units – Ilembe Crime Intelligence, uMhlali Task Team, KwaDukuza Tactical Response Team, uMhlali Vispol, and IPSS Security Services. Their search of the Palm Lakes home yielded two .303 rifles, one pump-action shotgun and 78 shotgun cartridges. The discovery in an upmarket residential estate underscores that illegal firearms are not necessarily found in high-crime areas but across all communities.

The confiscated firearms have been sent for ballistic testing, where they will be entered into South Africa’s ballistic database. This is done to match them to bullet casings found at crime scenes across the country, potentially solving cold cases. Ballistic testing can take weeks to months to complete. Reece is scheduled to appear in court again on Friday, where he will apply for bail. If convicted, Reece faces up to 15 years’ imprisonment per firearm.

South Africa has an estimated half a million illegal firearms in circulation, with many fuelling violent crimes across KwaZulu-Natal. The nature of this case is of serious concern as KZN has one of the highest rates of firearms-related crimes. The .303 rifles recovered are military-grade weapons, which raises questions as to how they entered civilian hands and whether they were stolen from state armouries.

It is imperative for South Africans to understand just how long police operations take before we brand the men in blue as lazy. The month-long operation highlights how modern policing relies on intelligence-led strategies and inter-agency cooperation to track down illegal weapons. This increases the likelihood of successful prosecution compared to random patrols.

As Reece prepares for his bail application on Friday, this case underscores a critical reality: illegal firearms know no boundaries of wealth or geography. The month-long operation that brought him to court demonstrates that thorough, intelligence-driven policing, though time-consuming delivers results that protect all communities.

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Mamelodi Hostage Crisis Ends in Tragedy as Officer and Nephew Lose Their Lives

Tshepiso Mofokeng — Wed, 10 Sep 2025 06:46:56 +0000

What began as a family argument in Mamelodi East on Tuesday morning spiraled into a tense hostage standoff that lasted the entire day and ended in heartbreak just before midnight.

Police confirmed that Constable Thapelo Mashigo, 32, was found dead inside his family’s home along with his 18-year-old nephew after gunshots rang out late at night.

The ordeal started around 8 am when Mashigo reportedly fired shots and refused to let his mother and nephew leave the house. Negotiators spent hours trying to calm him down, while Special Task Force teams stood by. By late evening, there was a breakthrough: Mashigo allowed his 69-year-old mother to leave safely.

But hopes of a peaceful resolution were shattered when gunfire erupted shortly before midnight. Officers rushed in to find the constable dead, and his nephew fatally wounded.

Mashigo had joined the police service in 2019 and was deployed to the Essential Infrastructure Task Team. His actions have left colleagues and the community deeply shaken. Police wellness teams are now offering support to his family and fellow officers.

The tragedy has stirred painful questions in Mamelodi and beyond—about violence within families, the strain carried by frontline officers, and the devastating consequences when personal struggles and firearms collide.

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SAPS Tactical Response Teams (TRT) and Combat recover unlicensed firearms, ammunitio and military-grade equipment in Port St. John’s from 12 to 13 June 2025

Hlakaniphile Magadlela — Mon, 21 Jul 2025 09:18:53 +0000

A coordinated intelligence-driven operation by SAPS Tactical Response Teams (TRT) and Combat units has led to the arrest of three suspects and the recovery of unlicensed firearms, ammunition, and military-grade equipment in Port St. John’s from 12 to 13 June 2025.

Acting on credible intelligence regarding illegal firearms linked to taxi violence and cash-in-transit robberies, the TRT Recce Team, supported by OR Tambo and Joe Gqabi Combat Teams, executed search warrants at two homesteads in Tombo A/A and Mthumbane.

At the first address (Tombo A/A), a female suspect (46) presented a firearm license for a shotgun and 9mm pistol but failed to produce a competency certificate or valid documentation for ammunition. Her male co-accused, a 52-year-old, was found in possession of an unlicensed shotgun. Exhibits seized are as follows: 1 x Shotgun, 1 x 9mm Pistol, 1 x Pistol Magazine, 33 x 9mm Cartridges and 5 x Shotgun Shells

At the second address in Mthumbane),a 38-year-old female suspect was found with a wooden case containing multiple rifles. She claimed no knowledge of the firearms, stating they belonged to her husband. Exhibits seized are as follows: 10 x AK-47 Rifles, 19 x Magazines, 100 x 7.62 Cartridges,10 x Cleaning Kits, 4 x 9mm Pouches and10 x Oil Canisters.

All three suspects face charges of illegal possession of firearms and ammunition and Contravention of the Firearms Control Act (Act 60 of 2000).

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SUSPECT EVADES ARREST AFTER DITCHING FIREARMS IN BRONVILLE

Steven Van Vollenhoven — Thu, 19 Jun 2025 11:09:43 +0000

Police in Bronville are investigating a case of found property after two 9mm pistols and ammunition were recovered in an open field yesterday afternoon.

Free State Policespokesperson Sergent Mahlomola Kareli said it was on18 June 2025 at about 15:00, two Bronville Crime Prevention members were busy conducting a vehicle checkpoint (VCP) at the Erfdeel Road/Masimong T-junction. Members attention was drawn to a maroon Toyota Etios that offloaded an African male carrying a black backpack on a bridge. The individual then proceeded to walk towards the nearby mine.

The Toyota Etios was searched with its four occupants and all was in inorder. The members then proceeded to follow the individual who had been dropped off. As the patrol vehicle approached, the suspect threw his black backpack into long grass in an open field and fled on foot. Despite a pursuit by the officers, the suspect managed to evade arrest.

Upon searching the area where the bag was discarded, police recovered two 9mm pistols, 10 live 9mm rounds of ammunition and two magazines. Both firearms had their serial numbers filed off.

Police are appealing to anyone with information that could lead to the arrest of the suspect to contact Captain Steyn on 084 820 0005 or 0579109932 or call the SAPS Crimeline at 08600 10111 or drop an anonymous tipoff on MySaps App.

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SAPS Tactical Response Teams (TRT) and Combat recover unlicensed firearms, ammunitio and military-grade equipment in Port St. John’s from 12 to 13 June 2025

Steven Van Vollenhoven — Sat, 14 Jun 2025 11:34:28 +0000

All three suspects face charges of illegal possession of firearms and ammunition and Contravention of the Firearms Control Act (Act 60 of 2000).

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Three Suspected Gang Members Arrested for Firearms and Ammunition in KwaZulu-Natal

Tshepiso Mofokeng — Sat, 26 Apr 2025 20:56:28 +0000

Three suspected gang members were arrested in KwaZulu-Natal on Thursday after being found with firearms and ammunition during a police operation.

The arrests took place in the Bester area of Inanda, where police, acting on intelligence, raided a house in the Mzomusha area. Inside, officers found a group of young men and, upon searching them, discovered two firearms and ammunition.

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The three suspects, aged between 18 and 22, were taken into custody for illegal possession of firearms and ammunition. Authorities have also linked the group to several murder cases in Bester and the surrounding Inanda region.

The suspects are expected to appear in the Ntuzuma Magistrate’s Court next Tuesday.

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Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe assassinated in Nara shooting

MDNtv — Sat, 09 Jul 2022 00:07:26 +0000

Tokyo
CNN
—

Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe died on Friday after being shot whereas giving a marketing campaign speech on a avenue in central Japan.

The assassination of the former world leader in broad daylight has shocked a nation not used to gun violence and prompted an outpouring of help and condolences from the worldwide group.

Abe died from extreme bleeding and was pronounced lifeless at 5:03 p.m. native time, medical doctors on the Nara Medical University hospital stated throughout a information convention on Friday. The medical doctors stated the bullet that killed the previous Japanese chief was “deep enough to reach his heart” and a staff of 20 medical professionals had been unable to cease the bleeding.

Abe went into cardiopulmonary arrest on the web site of the shooting and was rushed to hospital in a state of cardiac arrest at 12:20 p.m. native time, medical doctors stated. During surgical procedure, medical doctors found a gunshot wound to his neck and a big wound on his coronary heart.

The suspect, Tetsuya Yamagami, was detained on the scene and admitted to shooting Abe, in keeping with Nara Nishi police.

Abe, 67, was the previous Liberal Democratic Party chief and Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, holding workplace from 2006 to 2007 and once more from 2012 to 2020, earlier than resigning as a consequence of well being causes. Since stepping down, he remained in the general public eye and recurrently appeared in the media to debate present affairs.

At the time of the shooting, Abe was delivering a speech in help of LDP candidates in Nara metropolis forward of the upcoming Upper House elections scheduled for Sunday.

Video aired by public broadcaster NHK captured the moments earlier than the shooting, displaying Abe chatting with a small crowd in entrance of Yamatosaidaiji railway station. In subsequent movies, two photographs may be heard and smoke may be seen in the air.

Photos present folks gathered across the former chief as he lay in the road, with what gave the impression to be blood stains on his white shirt.

An official from the Nara City Fire Department informed CNN earlier Friday Abe was in a state of cardiopulmonary arrest, a time period used to explain the sudden lack of coronary heart perform and respiration.

The Asahi Shimbun/Getty Images

Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks moments earlier than being shot in entrance of Yamato-Saidaiji Station in Nara, Japan, on July 8.

Kyodo News/AP

Japan’s former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, heart, lies on the bottom having been shot in Nara, Japan, on July 8.

to a helicopter after being shot in entrance of Yamato-Saidaiji Station in Nara, Japan, on July 8. ” class=”gallery-image__dam-img”/>

The Asahi Shimbun/Getty Images

Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is taken on a stretcher to a helicopter after being shot in entrance of Yamato-Saidaiji Station in Nara, Japan, on July 8.

Philip Fong/AFP/Getty Images

Akie Abe, heart, spouse of former Japanese prime minster Shinzo Abe, arrives by practice in Nara earlier than heading to the Nara Medical University Hospital in Kashihara, Nara Prefecture, the place her husband was transferred after being shot throughout an election marketing campaign in Nara on July 8.

Masanori Genko/AP

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks to the media concerning the former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at his workplace in Tokyo, Japan, on July 8.

Toshifumi Kitamura/AFP/Getty Images

Pedestrians are silhouetted towards a big public video display screen displaying a picture of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe in the Akihabara district of Tokyo on July 8, after he was shot and killed in town of Nara

Philip Fong/AFP/Getty Images

Head of University Hospital Kimihiko Kichikawa, heart left, and professor of emergency medication, Hidetada Fukushima, heart proper, maintain a press convention in Kashihara, Nara Prefecture, the place former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe was confirmed lifeless after he was shot at a marketing campaign occasion in town of Nara on July 8.

Christopher Jue/Getty Images

Extra version newspapers about Japan’s former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe being shot whereas campaigning in Nara, Japan, are being distributed to folks on a avenue on July 8, in Tokyo.

Osamu Kanazawa/The Yomiuri Shimbun/Reuters

A person lays flowers on the web site the place Japan’s former prime minister Shinzo Abe was shot in Nara City, Japan, on July 8.

Kyodo News/Getty Images

Media crews collect in an space close to Yamato-Saidaiji Station in Nara, Japan, on July 8, after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot.

Shohei Izumi/The Yomiuri Shimbun/AP

An aerial picture exhibits a person believed to be former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on a stretcher at Nara Medical University Hospital in Kashihara, Nara Prefecture, Japan, on July 8.

Kazuhiko Hirano/AP

An ambulance carrying Japanese former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe leaves for an emergency hospital close to Yamato-Saidaiji Station in Nara Prefecture on July 8.

The Asahi Shimbun/Getty Images

Security police sort out a suspect who’s believed to be concerned in the shooting in entrance of Yamato-Saidaiji Station in Nara, Japan, on July 8. What seems to be a hand-crafted gun lies on the bottom close to as a safety officer seizes the suspect.

Kyodo News/Getty Images

A tv display screen in Tokyo’s Yurakucho space on July 8 exhibits the information that former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been shot

Kyodo/Reuters

The scene on the bottom in Nara, Japan, close to the situation the place former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot on July 8.

Kyodo News/Getty Images

A photograph taken from a Kyodo News helicopter in Nara, Japan, on July 8, exhibits an space close to the situation the place former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot from behind earlier in the day.

He was rushed to hospital by way of helicopter, the place medics started frantic efforts to maintain him alive.

But Abe’s coronary heart had stopped beating by the point he reached the hospital, medical doctors stated.

The former chief had two gunshot wounds however medical doctors couldn’t decide the trajectory of the bullets.

During surgical procedure, medical doctors struggled to stem the bleeding. “We took resuscitative measures, but (Abe) unfortunately died,” Hidenori Fukushima, a professor at Nara Medical University, informed reporters.

Shortly earlier than 6 a.m. native time on Saturday, a automobile believed to be carrying his physique left the hospital, NHK reported.

Yamagami, who appeared to have used a selfmade weapon in the assault, was arrested and charged with tried homicide, in keeping with NHK.

He was held for questioning at Nara Nishi police station.

During a information convention Friday, Nara Nishi police stated the 41-year-old suspect, who’s unemployed, holds hatred towards a sure group to which he thought Abe was associated.

Police raided the suspect’s condominium at 5:17 p.m. native time, the place they confiscated a number of handmade pistol-like gadgets, police stated.

Yamagami is being investigated as a suspect in a homicide case, to which 90 investigators have been assigned, the police added.

Japan’s National Police Agency will overview safety preparations for Abe, NHK reported Saturday.

NHK reported the police company stated the Nara prefectural police drew up a safety plan for the previous prime minister whereas in town. The prefecture’s cops and safety personnel from the Tokyo Metropolitan police had remained looking out and had reportedly watched Abe from all sides throughout his speech, NHK reported.

Several dozen officers, together with the Nara prefecture’s plain-clothed cops and one specifically assigned personnel from the Tokyo police drive, had been on obligation, NHK reported.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida paid his “deepest condolences” to former chief Abe, saying he “was a personal friend, with whom (he) spent a lot of time.”

Kishida stated he had a “great respect for the legacy (Abe) left behind” and would proceed election campaigning on Saturday, including a free and truthful election should be defended in any respect prices.

News of the shooting and Abe’s subsequent dying horrified leaders all over the world, many of whom had worked with Abe throughout his lengthy tenure.

US President Joe Biden stated he was “stunned, outraged, and deeply saddened,” including he had labored intently with Abe and his killing was “a tragedy for Japan and all who knew him.”

“While there are many details that we do not yet know, we know that violent attacks are never acceptable and that gun violence always leaves a deep scar on the communities that are affected by it. The United States stands with Japan in this moment of grief,” the US president stated in an announcement.

Later on Friday, Biden ordered American flags on the White House and on different federal grounds be flown at half-staff till Sunday in recognition of Abe’s dying.

“Abe was one of Australia’s closest friends on the world stage,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wrote on Twitter, including Abe was “a leader in the Indo-Pacific, championing a vision of a free and open region.”

Abe’s legacy features a main Asia-Pacific commerce partnership, often known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, and the Quad, Albanese added, saying each had been formed by his diplomatic management.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India would maintain a day of nationwide mourning on Saturday. Abe was “a towering global statesman, an outstanding leader, and a remarkable administrator,” stated Modi, including his relationship with Abe “goes back many years.”

European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen known as Abe “a wonderful person, great democrat and champion of the multilateral world order” in a tweet on Friday.

“I mourn with his family, his friends and all the people of Japan. This brutal and cowardly murder of Shinzo Abe shocks the whole world,” she stated.

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II said in a statement she had “fond memories of meeting Mr. Abe and his wife” throughout their 2016 go to to the UK. “His love for Japan, and his desire to forge ever-closer bonds with the United Kingdom, were clear. I wish to convey my deepest sympathy and condolences to his family and to the people of Japan at this difficult time,” the Queen stated.

After Abe was shot however earlier than his dying was confirmed, China’s Foreign Ministry despatched its condolences to Abe’s household. “We are following the developments, and we hope former Prime Minister Abe will be out of danger and recover soon. We certainly would like to send our regards to his family,” ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian informed a information convention on Friday afternoon.

Abe’s assassination has shocked Japan, which has one of many lowest charges of gun crime in the world as a consequence of its extraordinarily strict gun management legal guidelines.

Last 12 months, Japan reported just one dying from firearms, and a complete of 10 firearm-related incidents, in keeping with the National Police Agency.

Eight of the ten reported had been gang associated, the company added.

In 2018, Japan reported 9 deaths from firearms, in contrast with 39,740 that 12 months in the United States.

Under Japan’s firearms legal guidelines, the one weapons permitted on the market are shotguns and air rifles – handguns are outlawed. But getting a gun is a protracted and sophisticated course of.

Nancy Snow, Japan director of the International Security Industrial Council, informed CNN Friday’s shooting will change the nation “forever.”

“It’s not only rare, but it’s really culturally unfathomable,” Snow stated. “The Japanese people can’t imagine having a gun culture like we have in the United States. This is a speechless moment. I really feel at a loss for words. I pray for the best for the former prime minister.”

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