South African soccer national team goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa was killed by burglars at his girlfriend's house in a town near Johannesburg on Monday.

Police reports revealed that Meyiwa was at the home of his girlfriend Kelly Khumalo when two men entered the house around 8 p.m. local time. According to people inside the house, Meyiwa was shot in the upper body when Khumalo tried to stop one of the robbers during the altercation.

Meyiwa's death, which came when the country is still reeling from the passing of athlete Mbulaeni Mulaudzi and still recovering from the controversy involving Oscar Pistorius, left the country mourning on Monday.

South African President Jacob Zuma expressed grief and anger over Meyiwa's killing, urging authorities to "leave no stone unturned" in their hunt for the two suspects with one believed to be in his early 30s and the other one in his early 20s.

"We mourn the death of this young footballer and team leader whose life has been taken away at the prime of his career," Zuma said in a statement. "The law enforcement authorities must leave no stone unturned in finding his killers and bring them to justice. Words cannot express the nation's shock at this loss."

General Riah Phiyega, the national police commissioner, vowed to follow Zuma's order, saying that they will be giving their all in searching for Meyiwa's killers as soon as possible.

"This type of loss does not augur well for our brand and image out there, so it is important for us to ensure that, when we have those type of spoilers in our society, we as police go out there and bring about their arrest and incarceration," Phiyega said via the Guardian. "We wish to assure the nation that we as police will not leave any stone unturned as we investigate this matter."

Meyiwa helped his club, Orlando Pirates, win the 2014 Nedbank Cup title. His impressive performance was enough for him to be named as the first choice goalkeeper for his country's campaign at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.

National football team coach Ephraim Mashaba, who also handed Meyiwa the captain's armband in their recent matches, was emotional during the press conference in Johannesburg.

"Most of the time, these things come when you least expect," Mashaba said. "We're going to miss Senzo a lot, never mind his saving goals. Don't think such a good man as Senzo can go and vanish. His spirit will live. He would always be the leader."

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