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“Members of the national defense force were reportedly on duty monitoring Covid-19 compliance in the area when they approached a group of people not wearing masks,” Mojapelo said Friday.
“When asked why they weren’t wearing masks, an argument allegedly broke out and one of the soldiers shot the victim. The 27-year-old injured man was rushed to hospital.
“The 29-year-old soldier was arrested and charged with attempted murder,” Mojapelo said.
The army said a shot was fired during a fight.
South African National Defense Force (SANDF) spokesman Capt. Jaco Theunissen told TimesLIVE that the shooting could have been accidental.
“The soldiers were enforcing the lockdown rules together with the police when they approached people who were not wearing masks,” he said.
“There was a fight and they [the members of the public] tried to take a gun from the soldier. It was then that a shot was fired and the community member received a blow to the thigh ”.
Theunissen said the matter was being handled by police and that he could not immediately say what action, if any, would be taken against the soldier.
The soldier is due to appear in Morebeng Magistrates Court on Friday.
TimesLIVE
