Johannesburg - An off-duty police officer was assaulted, shot and killed on Saturday, in KwaZakhele, Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape police said.
The constable, 32, was allegedly dragged out of a telephone container and assaulted by five suspects at about 01:00, spokesperson Sibongile Soci said in a statement.
"He was also shot several times in the upper body and died at the scene."
It is unclear if he was robbed. The officer had parked his bakkie next to the container.
She said the bakkie was not stolen but attempts were made to open it.
A murder case has been opened. No arrests have been made.
The Eastern Cape police commissioner, Lieutenant General Celiwe Binta condemned the murder.
"Any person who attacks or kills a police official
will face the full might of the law... An attack on or murder of a police
official is a threat to our constitutional democracy and rob our communities of
their protectors," she said in a statement.