South Africa goalkeeper and captain Senzo Meyiwa shot dead

The goalkeeper and captain of South Africa's national football team was shot dead when armed men broke into the house where he was staying, police said on Monday.

 

Senzo Meyiwa

Senzo Meyiwa was killed on Sunday after two gunmen entered a house in Vosloorus township near Johannesburg while an accomplice waited outside, the national police force said on its Twitter account.

Police said there were seven people in the house at the time of the attack, and that the shooting followed an "altercation".

The three assailants fled the scene, according to the police service, which offered a reward of nearly 14,000 US dollars for information leading to arrests in the case.

South African football club Orlando Pirates confirmed Meyiwa's death, saying in a statement that it had learned "with sadness about the untimely death of our number one goalkeeper and current captain Senzo Meyiwa".

The 27-year-old goalkeeper was South Africa's captain in their four qualifiers for the African Cup of Nations this year.