The attack on Fleurs marked the latest incident to shock South Africa, a crime-ridden nation. His death comes at a time where South Africans continue to mourn the death of Kiernan Jarryd Forbes, another celebrity and multi-award-winning musician known by his alias, AKA, who was shot dead in February 2023.
Police authorities say Fleurs, 24, was gunned down on Wednesday night while he was refilling his car at a gas station in a northwestern suburb of Johannesburg. The assailants drove off in his vehicle, they add.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Mavela Masondo said the Kaizer Chiefs defender was attacked by "two armed males" as he waited to be "served by the petrol attendant."
Masondo said "the suspects pointed at him with a firearm and took him out of his vehicle, then shot him once on the upper body," adding, "one suspect drove off with the victim's car followed by his accomplice."
The police spokesperson said Fleur was taken to a hospital but declared dead on arrival, adding that no arrests have been made yet.
An investigation into murder and hijacking has been launched, and a manhunt for the suspects who killed Fleur is ongoing, police say.
Fleurs team took to social media to confirm his death.
"It is with a great deal of sadness that we announce that Kaizer Chiefs player Luke Fleurs tragically lost his life last night during a hijacking incident in Johannesburg," his team said in a social media post.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends at this difficult time," the post added.
South Africa’s sports Minister Zizi Kodwa paid tribute to Fleurs on social media.
"I am saddened that yet another life has been cut short due to violent crime. My thoughts are with the Fleurs and Amakhosi family, and the entire South African football fraternity," he wrote on X, formerly Twitter, referring to the Kaizer Chiefs team by their nickname.
Kodwa’s sentiments were echoed by Danny Jordan, the president of the South African Football Association, SAFA.
A statement released by the SAFA president said, "we woke up to the heartbreaking and devastating news of the passing of this young life. This is such a huge loss for his family, friends, his teammates, and football in general."
"We are all grieving this young man’s passing," the statement added.
Fleurs represented South Africa at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021 and in the same year was called up to the senior national team for World Cup qualifiers against Ethiopia.
Despite the call up, he was on the bench in the match against the Horn of Africa nation and remained uncapped.
The 24-year-old footballer joined Kaizer Chiefs from SuperSport United in October, having come from Cape Town where he played for Ubuntu Football Academy.
Experts say South Africa continues to suffer from extremely high crime rates — a key political issue ahead of general elections in May, with opposition parties pointing to the government's perceived failure.
Official figures show that the nation recorded almost 84 murders a day between October and December.
Information for this article was sourced from Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
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