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Suspended Major General Feroz Khan, deputy head of South Africa’s Crime Intelligence division, survived an assassination attempt in which he was shot multiple times while driving in Johannesburg on June 28, 2026, according to the South African Police Service. Unknown assailants in a white Mercedes Benz approached his vehicle in Third Avenue, Houghton, around 11pm and opened fire, with two shots reported and 9mm cartridges recovered from the scene, SAPS said. Khan underwent emergency surgery at Netcare Milpark Hospital where he remains in critical condition, a police spokesperson confirmed.
The South African Police Service has deployed a high-level investigation into the shooting, involving the Gauteng Hawks, Gauteng Crime Intelligence and the SAPS Detective Service, Brigadier Athlenda Mathe stated. Mathe said the joint probe aims to identify and apprehend those responsible for what officials described as a targeted attack on the senior officer. No arrests have been reported as detectives continue to gather evidence from the Houghton neighbourhood where the incident unfolded.
Major General Feroz Khan has been suspended from his role as deputy head of Crime Intelligence and came under scrutiny during appearances at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry into political killings, News24 reported on June 11, 2026. The commission has examined targeted violence linked to political and criminal networks, with Khan’s testimony drawing questions over his conduct and associations. Daily Maverick detailed how Khan launched legal efforts to recover state-owned devices seized from his Houghton home by the Political Killings Task Team on May 10, 2026.
In an affidavit cited by Daily Maverick, Khan warned that information on the seized devices related to vehicle and illicit drug smuggling, assassinations, political killings, murder and gang violence. “To ignore this could result in death, assassinations and compromising undercover operations, the costs of which run into millions of rand,” he said in the affidavit. The documents released to the commission allowed forensic analysis of extraction reports from his devices within days of the seizure, the publication added.
South African law enforcement personnel continue to face significant risks, with government figures showing 31 police officers killed between April and June 2023, almost double the number from the same period in 2022, according to a March 2024 post on the official gov.za blog. More recent crime statistics indicate some improvement, as IOL News reported in May 2026 that eight police officers had been killed off duty in the covered period, marking a reduction of 14 from the prior comparable timeframe. These numbers reflect ongoing challenges in a country where political killings inquiries like the Madlanga Commission have highlighted intersections between crime syndicates and state institutions.
The attempted assassination of Khan occurs against a backdrop of heightened attention on crime intelligence operations and their role in combating organised violence, SAPS statements show. Investigators have not publicly linked the shooting to any specific motive or group at this stage, though the officer’s involvement in sensitive probes has drawn public commentary. Police have urged anyone with information about the white Mercedes Benz or the attackers to come forward as the high-level investigation proceeds.
