A 42-year-old Provincial traffic official, Sonica Esmeralda Smith, in Gqeberha, was shot and killed while on duty on Wednesday..
Police spokesperson Colonel Col Priscilla Naidu said the incident happened on the R75 near Kwadwesi.
She said three Provincial traffic officials, of which two were females, were conducting vehicle checkpoints.
“While the male official was standing on the road, one female was busy writing out a summons and the deceased female was seated on the driver’s seat busy with documentation,” said Naidu.
Four armed men walked toward the male traffic official, pointed him with a firearm and disarmed him.
When Smith, who was seated in the vehicle. attempted to react and assist her colleague, she was shot in her chest. Her firearm was also taken.
Naidu said the suspects ran off on foot.
“A case of murder and robbery aggravated will be investigated,” she said.
Smith was a Provincial Inspector with 14 years of service. She leaves behind three children between the ages of seven and 21.
The Sarah Baartman district manager, Bukiwe Ncipa-Wali, said Smith was regarded as a mentor by her colleagues and would be missed.
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