KwaZulu-Natal: Mourners turn against police in cemetery shooting

KwaZulu-Natal police are in search of suspects who were involved in a bizarre ‘tribute shooting’ that took place at the Mophela Cemetery, in Mpumalanga, just outside Pietermaritzburg, this past weekend.

KwaZulu-Natal cemetery shooting: What happened?

The funeral of an alleged drug dealer was attended by his family, close friends as well as a team of KwaZulu-Natal police officers who were wary of the dangers that may lie ahead for the innocent mourners who were there to pay their last respects to their loved one.

According to police spokesperson, Brigadier Jay Naicker, proceedings carried on without interruption and everything was cordial, until the final stop, which was at the Mophela Cemetery, where the body was going to be buried.

KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Khombinkosi Jula, explained that things turned chaotic when a number of suspects opened fire during the service, as a bizarre way of paying their last respects to the alleged drug dealer.

“Some funeral mourners participated in a gun salute and randomly opened fire during the funeral service. This poses a danger to innocent bystanders attending the funeral. We will continue to deal decisively with those that partake in such illegal activities and we call on communities to stand up and deplore the behaviour of such thugs who place their lives at risk,” he said.

Mourners turn against police

When the officers who were monitoring the funeral attempted to arrest the suspects for illegally releasing a firearm in public — in a twisted turn of events — the mourners protected the shooters.

“The police officers heard the gun shots during the funeral and they responded. They identified the alleged perpetrators and approached them. While police attempted to disarm the perpetrators, a group of mourners pelted the police officers with stones and other objects, obstructing them from executing their duties,” Brigadier Naicker revealed.

This is what was recovered plus update on suspects

Unfortunately, the suspects managed to escape and none of the mourners was placed under arrest for attacking officers. However, according to Naicker, the officers have been able to identify every suspect involved in the shooting and a manhunt has been launched to track down their whereabouts.

Police officers were also able to seize:

• an AK47 assault rifle;
• a R1 rifle;
• two pistols; and
• ammunition

“Police are still pursuing the suspects as they are known and hope to make arrests soon. The firearms will be subjected to ballistic tests to establish if they were used in any other crimes within the country,” Brigadier Naicker said.