One passenger was killed while another is battling for dear life at a local hospital after he was shot when armed police officers opened fire on an unregistered commuter omnibus near Juru Growth Point along the Mutoko-Nyamapanda road yesterday.
It is also understood that police authorities have since launched investigations into the shooting.
According to reports, the kombi was on its way to Bhora when it diverted through Glenwin suburb to avoid a tollgate.
Reports say the kombj had an altercation with the owner of a boomgate in the suburb and sped off back to the tollgate when police were called. It reportedly hit the boom at the tollgate and escaped on a road to Shamva before dumping the passengers including the injured, and drove off.
National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi described the death and injury as sad and unfortunate saying they had launched a full-scale investigation into the matter.
As of last night, the police were still hunting for the driver of the unregistered kombi.
“The ZRP is deeply saddened by the death of a woman and another passenger who were on board following the unfortunate shooting incident which happened this afternoon along the Mutoko-Nyamapanda Road. There was a kombi, which was travelling along the road going to Bhora with passengers on board. It then diverted route in an attempt to evade the tollgate by going through Glenwin suburb,” said Ass Comm Nyathi.
He revealed that the kombi reached a boom-gate at one of one of the residences in the suburb, which was being manned by security guards, and the crew had an altercation with the guard, who then informed their employer.
“The owner of the house who installed a boom-gate in front of his house called police who reacted swiftly. Upon seeing the police, the kombi crew sped off with passengers on board resulting in a high speed chase towards the tollgate. Upon arrival at the tollgate, the driver of the kombi hit the boom-gate and did not stop. Along the way, police fired shots which unfortunately hit some passengers,” Ass Comm Nyathi narrated.
Upon reaching Juru Growth Point, Nyathi said, the kombi driver turned into a road leading to Shamva and then dumped the passengers including the woman who died and the other injured passenger.
The police publicist urged drivers to abide by the law, while describing the behaviour of some of the kombi chauffeurs as deplorable.
state media
additional reporting: Zwnews
