By Staff Reporter
news@alexreporter.co.za
Previously the man’s partner reported him for domestic violence. Police confiscated his firearm and deemed him unfit to possess a gun because of his anger issues.
An unknown man who disarmed a police constable and shot two on-duty officers at Alexander Police Station in Johannesburg, had previously gone to the station to report a domestic dispute at his house.
On Wednesday night, he told the police that he was a victim of gender-based violence and needed the officers to help him solve the issue.
A source close to the case at the police station told Scrolla.Africa that police advised him to open a case against the person he was reporting.
But he demanded to be escorted by officers to his house. The police refused, offering instead to help him lay charges.
“He started demanding to have his firearm, which the officials had previously taken because he was deemed unfit to hold a gun after his partner reported him for domestic violence.
Officers dismissed him without returning his firearm to him.
After several hours at the station without getting help, the man left the charge office and was seen hanging around the premises.
It is not clear whether he went home or stayed in the yard.
On Thursday morning, the man was again seen on the premises and some of the day shift team were told to keep a close eye on him.
Later on the same Thursday morning, the man went into a crime registration office, also known at the station as the computer room, where he found a female clerk.
“On his way out of the computer room, the man found a constable at the Client Service Centre, also known as the charge office. The constable had his gun in a holster at his waist.
“He disarmed the officer and tried to shoot at him, but no bullets came out. He then started shooting randomly. That was when the two police officers were shot,” the source said.
A team of detectives who swiftly responded to the incident tracked down the suspect and found him down the street.
The suspect was killed in a shootout with authorities along 18th Avenue.
Gauteng deputy provincial police commissioner Major General Fred Kekana visited the station. He said the two police officers were both shot in the shoulder.
Kekana told the media that the deceased suspect went into the station around 10am, seeking help because someone was trying to kill him.
“An officer was seated behind the counter, writing a statement, when this man walked in and grabbed the police officer’s firearm,” said Kekana.
“The police officer was wearing civilian clothes, and the firearm was in the holster.
“The man disarmed the officer of his service pistol and started shooting randomly. During the situation, he shot a 48-year-old sergeant and a 27-year-old constable.
“Both were shot on their right shoulders. They are currently receiving medical attention and are in a stable condition,” said Kekana.
This is not the first shooting incident at the station. In June 2015, four people were shot dead at the same station, allegedly by an off-duty police officer.
The then-station commander and two officers at the station were suspended after the incident. The suspended station commander was accused of issuing the off-duty constable with a firearm which he used to kill three people, including a senior officer.
The constable’s firearm had been previously confiscated after he allegedly held his girlfriend hostage.
Source: Scroller.Africa (Everson Luhanga).
