A police constable killed his girlfriend and another woman in Ikopeleng village, near the Botswana border.
|||A police constable killed his girlfriend and another woman in Ikopeleng village, near the Botswana border, early Sunday morning then shot himself dead as he handed himself over to police, North West police said.
The 26-year-old constable, who was stationed at Ramatlabama border post, went to his aunt's house where he forced open a window and shot the two women dead at 2am, said Brigadier Thulane Ngubane.
“One woman's body was found still lying on the bed, whilst the other one could have been up on her feet because her body was found lying in a pool of blood on the bedroom floor.”
The events leading up to the shooting were not known.
After the shooting, the constable contacted the police and told them what had happened.
The police station commander went to the constable's house where he said he wanted to hand himself over to the police.
The commander drove the constable back to the crime scene where he told the other police officers that the constable was willing to hand himself in.
“After he informed them, members then approached the suspect and suddenly he moved away from them, drew a firearm and shot himself once through the mouth,” Ngubane said.
The constable's firearm had not taken away from him, because he had “acted appropriately” by handing himself in, he said.
North West police commissioner Lt-Gen Zukiswa Mbombo conveyed her condolences to the families.
She also condemned the constable's actions.
“We know that our members are on daily basis faced with challenging and very dangerous situations, but we always encourage them to speak out and seek professional help,” Mbombo said. - Sapa