File
The Hawks in the Eastern Cape said a 39-year-old man was arrested in connection with the shooting and wounding of an East London policeman in Quigney in November.
Provincial spokesperson, Captain Yolisa Mgolodela, said the suspect was arrested at his home in Ndevana Location at Qonce on Friday by the East London-based Serious Organised Crime Investigation team of the Hawks, Crime Intelligence Gathering team and Qonce Flying Squad.
She said he will appear in the East London Magistrate’s Court on Monday on charges of attempted murder and vehicle hijacking.
His arrest was a sequel to the incident on the afternoon of 23 November when Warrant Officer Pieter Swanepoel of the East London K9 unit was met “by a hail of bullets” when he approached a “suspicious vehicle” in Quigney and attempted to stop the driver.
Mgolodela said two men fled, abandoning the vehicle, and leaving W/O Swanepoel with serious wounds to the upper body.
Meanwhile, she said the Hawks investigation also linked the suspect to an armed robbery as well as “numerous counts of motor vehicle hijackings in Keiskammahoek and Ugie respectively” and will appear in court soon on those charges.
She said the joint effort of the teams was commended by the Provincial Head of the Hawks, Major-General Mboiki Ngwenya.
