There can never be any justification for the killing of police officers‚ said Western Cape Community Safety MEC Dan Plato.

Plato was reacting on Monday to the killing of a 40-year-old police constable and wounding of a warrant officer by gunmen armed with automatic weapons and explosives at a filling station in Delft‚ Cape Town.

The officers were shot at during an attempted ATM robbery in the early hours of Monday morning.

“The reports this morning that the gunmen were armed with explosives and automatic assault rifles raises serious questions on the availability of guns in our communities and where these firearms come from‚” said Plato.

“There can never be any justification for the killing of police officers‚ and we must show a united front against these crimes. I call on law-abiding residents of the province to help with information that can see the murderers be brought to justice by the police‚” he said.

The Times reported last week that a police officer is murdered‚ on average‚ every four days in South Africa.

Police statistics‚ as of June 8‚ showed that 712 officers had been attacked during 2016 – 81% of them while on duty. Thirty-seven police members had‚ during that time‚ been killed.