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An Eastern Cape policeman has been killed in a shoot-out with armed robbers.
Provincial police spokesperson, brigadier Marinda Mills, says 46-year-old Warrant Officer Rodges Sithelo and a colleague had responded to a break-in at a local store in Elliotdale on Tuesday night.
She says the two officers believed that the robbers were inside the store, but an accomplice stationed outside the Boxer Store, opened fire on them.
Mills says a shoot-out ensued as the three other suspects joined in the attack on the two police officials.
She says Sithelo and one of the gunmen were killed, while another suspect was wounded and is under police guard in hospital.
Two of the robbers fled with an undisclosed amount of cash.
Mills says a task team has been established to track down the remaining gang members.
Warrant officer Rodges Sithelo leaves behind a wife and three children. He served in the SA Police Service for 20 years and an official funeral will be conducted in his honour within the next two weeks. He is the first and only member this year who was murdered in the line of duty.
