Police Captain Killed in Knysna shootout as Tsengwa murder probe deepens

Western Cape police are mourning the loss of a 50-year-old police captain who was killed in a shootout during an early-morning operation in Knysna on Wednesday.

The captain, who was attached to the provincial Tactical Response Team (TRT), was deployed in the area as part of investigations into the murder of former Knysna mayor and ANC councillor Aubrey Tsengwa, as well as two other men who were killed in separate shooting incidents last week.

At the time of the deadly confrontation, an integrated SAPS team was following up on information about illegal firearms at the Sewende Laan informal settlement along Uniondale Road.

Police said the operation turned deadly when officers exchanged gunfire with a 38-year-old suspect. Both the suspect and the police captain were fatally wounded.

Two firearms were recovered from the suspect following the shooting.

The captain's death has added another layer of tragedy to an already tense investigation into a series of killings in the Knysna area.

Three suspects have already appeared in court in connection with Tsengwa's murder, while investigations into the killings of Mandla Matiwane and Mandla Tyololo are continuing.

Psychosocial support has been made available to the SAPS members who were at the scene, as well as colleagues of the slain captain in Cape Town.

Western Cape Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant-General Sizakhele Dyantyi expressed condolences to the captain's family, friends and colleagues, describing his death as a painful loss to the police service.