WATCH | 'An attack on the state': Two flying squad officers shot dead after car chase

Two on-duty members of the Kimberley Flying Squad were shot and killed on Tuesday. 

Northern Cape police spokesperson Brigadier Mashay Gamieldien said the sergeant and constable were among a team investigating a stolen sedan en route to Bloemfontein.

Gamieldien said the team spotted the vehicle in Kimberley and pursued it. 

The driver sped off and crashed the vehicle into Transnet premises. He abandoned the vehicle and fled on foot while firing shots that claimed the lives of the two officers.

READ | Face to face with a killer: Cop testifies on seeing clearly the face of Sharp Shooters gunman

Police could not confirm reports that the man had taken a firearm from the officers before firing shots.

Videos on social media show police officers running through a local shopping mall.

Hawks spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Tebogo Thebe, said officers had responded to information that the suspect was at the mall, but he was not found there but somewhere nearby. 

Gamieldien said the team arrested a 38-year-old man, who will appear in court soon on murder charges.

Provincial police commissioner, Lieutenant General Koliswa Otola, said the murder of the two officers was an attack on the state. Otola conveyed condolences to the affected families and relatives.