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Former South African youngster Luke Fleurs, who played for the country’s most popular football club, Kaizer Chiefs, was killed in a car hijacking in Johannesburg, police said Thursday.
Fleurs, 24, was shot in the chest at a gas station Wednesday night and the assailants drove off in their vehicle.
“While waiting for the assistant to attend to him, he was confronted by two armed men,” police spokesman Lt. Col. Mavela Masondo told reporters, adding that no arrests had been made.
The centre-back played every single minute for South Africa at the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games, and that same year he was called up to the senior squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Ethiopia, he did not come off the bench and was not selected.
“We woke up to the heartbreaking and devastating news of this young man’s passing. It’s a huge loss for his family, friends, teammates and for football in general. We all mourn the passing of this young man,” South African football said. President Danny Jordaan said in a statement.
Zizi Kodwa, South Africa’s Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, said he was “saddened that other lives have been cut short by violent crime. “
Fleurs joined the SuperSport United Chiefs in October, after attending the Ubuntu Football Academy in Cape Town.