KILLED ON DUTY: Police officer shot dead after stopping 5 suspicious-looking men

BULAWAYO – A police officer was shot dead in Sizinda, Bulawayo, after stopping five suspicious-looking men and asking them to identify themselves shortly after midnight on Friday, police said.

Sergeant Abel Masava, who was based at Tshabalala Police Station, was attending a domestic violence incident and was standing next to a police vehicle when he saw a group of five men wearing dark clothing approaching.

Masava, according to police, stopped the men and asked them where they were coming from and requested that they identify themselves.

“One of them pointed a firearm and shot Sergeant Masava on the head… He was rushed to the United Bulawayo Hospitals where he was confirmed dead upon admission,” an internal police memo of the incident, seen by ZimLive, said.

Masava was wearing police uniform when he was shot.

The slain cop had earlier left the police station with another police officer after being called to a house in Sizinda where a woman reported being assaulted by her husband.

The second officer, the domestic violence victim and her friend were negotiating entry into the house when Masava, who had remained standing next to the vehicle outside, was shot.

Masava is the second officer to die on duty inside a month in Bulawayo.

On March 6, detective Cassandra Hove died after being shot in the chest by a colleague in Pumula South suburb. A court heard that the bullet that killed her was intended for an armed robbery suspect as a police officer was charged over her murder.

Zimlive