LIMPOPO SOLDIER KILLS GIRLFRIEND, SELF, WITH STOLEN RIFLE
An SA National Defence Force (SANDF) staff sergeant killed his girlfriend then himself with a stolen rifle, Limpopo police said on Wednesday.
Spokesman Captain Mushudu Malero said the 42-year-old soldier stole an R4 rifle from the SANDF base in Polokwane on Tuesday and then took it to his girlfriend's house in Tshitekereke, Thohoyandou, about 200km away.
His colleagues learned of the theft and travelled to the homestead to arrest him.
When they told him he was under arrest, he asked that he be allowed to change into long trousers before leaving with them.
He went inside the house, but then walked outside again and opened fire with the rifle, shooting randomly.
The soldiers took cover in a nearby mielie field, but his girlfriend was shot eight times and died.
He ran into the mielie field and escaped.
Malero said the soldiers then warned the sergeant's wife that her life could be in danger, so when he went to his homestead he found it deserted.
He then proceeded to his in-laws' homestead and found nobody there either.
Neighbours alerted the authorities that he was there but when they arrived they found him dead inside the house, with a bullet wound to his forehead, and the stolen rifle lying next to him.
Police were not immediately aware of the motive for his actions, but a murder investigation and an inquest is underway.
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22 Février 2006 à 16:22 dans
- zsandf (anglais)
