Four suspects, including an ex-husband, have been arrested in connection with last week’s fatal shooting of a Riverside High School teacher in Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng.
Gauteng police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Mavela Masondo said police arrested four suspects after the 33-year-old female teacher was shot and killed in Vanderbijlpark on Friday.
Among those arrested is a medical doctor, who is reported to be the teacher’s ex-husband.
The arrests come after two Gauteng education department educators were gunned down on Friday in separate incidents in Vanderbijlpark and Daveyton on the East Rand.
The police are investigating the shootings.
The woman was a life orientation teacher at Riverside High School, while the Daveyton educator was the departmental head of commerce at Unity Secondary School in the area.
Masondo said the Riverside High School teacher was shot multiple times.
Certified dead on the scene
“On Friday, at approximately 8am, police responded to a complaint of a shooting incident on Hendrik van Eck Boulevard in Vanderbijlpark,” said Masondo.
“On their arrival at the scene, police found the woman, who was in the driver’s seat of a Nissan NP200 bakkie, with multiple bullet wounds on her body.
“She was certified dead on the scene. Preliminary investigations revealed that the woman was shot while at the robots by suspects who were driving a Honda FRV motor vehicle.”
Masondo said police immediately established a task team consisting of the Sedibeng district’s tactical response team, K9 tracking team, and provincial crime intelligence to trace and arrest the suspects.
“Through the intelligence-led investigation, information led the team to Kliprivier, Sebokeng, Sharpeville, and Vereeniging, where four suspects were arrested.
“Police also recovered the firearm and seized the vehicle used during the commission of the crime,” said Masondo.
He said Gauteng provincial police commissioner, Lieutenant-General Tommy Mthombeni, applauded the police from Sedibeng district and provincial crime intelligence for working with speed and diligence to ensure that the suspects are traced and arrested.
Swift response applauded
“I am pleased with the manner in which the team handled this investigation and the swift response to arresting the suspects,” said Mthombeni.
“Gender-based violence remains one of the top priorities of the police in Gauteng. The suspects will be brought to book for the gruesome murder of a woman.”
Masondo added that all four suspects are expected to appear at the Vanderbijlpark magistrate’s court on Monday on a charge of murder.
Gauteng MEC for education, Matome Chiloane, expressed concern over the “senseless” killings of the two educators.
“We are deeply concerned at the onslaught of our educators following the deaths of two educators, which occurred on the same day and involved shootings,” said Chiloane.
“We wish to extend our sincerest condolences to their respective families and school communities while pleading with law-enforcement agencies to bring the culprits of these senseless killings to book.”
