South African Footballer Shot Dead In Car Hijacking

Kaizer Chiefs and South African footballer Luke Fleurs was shot dead in a car hijacking which took place at a petrol station on Wednesday night in the Johannesburg suburb of Florida.

According to Police in that country, the footballer was waiting to be attended to when he was approached by unknown gunmen, who ordered him to get out of his vehicle.

“The suspects pointed [at] him with a firearm and took him out of his vehicle, then shot him once on the upper body,” Gauteng police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Mavela Masondo told the media.

Kaizer Chiefs, one of the most popular clubs in the country and 12-time league champions, described his death as “tragic”.

The club said police were handling the matter and further details would be communicated in due course.

South African Sports Minister Zizi Kodwa said he was “saddened that yet another life has been cut short due to violent crime”.

Defender Fleurs joined Kaizer Chiefs last year, having previously played for SuperSport United and represented the South Africa team at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

He began his career in 2013 in the Ubuntu Cape Town Academy.

The Premier Soccer League said a moment of silence will be observed at all top-flight and second-tier games this weekend in memory of Fleurs.

-BBC-