Police rubber bullet kills 11-year-old
'The allegation is that he was shot with a rubber bullet. He was admitted to a hospital in Bela Bela‚ and later transferred to Polokwane where he died'
Limpopo police confirmed that an 11-year-old boy died in hospital on Wednesday after being hit in the head with a rubber bullet. Police spokesperson Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo said: “The allegation is that he was shot with a rubber bullet. He was admitted to a hospital in Bela Bela‚ and later transferred to Polokwane where he died.” Police were deployed to Bela Bela earlier this week after protests broke out in the area over electricity rates being raised. Bela Bela mayor Jeremia Ngobeni's car was torched on Tuesday‚ but he said on Wednesday that things were under control. On Wednesday‚ Mojapelo said there were sporadic “skirmishes” between the community and the police and that the police were deployed to restore calm to the area. He said the circumstances around the shooting for the 11-year-old was still under investigation and had been reported to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate. “The first report of the shooting didn't reach us‚” Mojapelo said. “As the police‚ ...
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