Johannesburg - A Mpumalanga man was expected to appear before the Piet Retief Magistrate’s Court today accused of shooting five members of his family.
According to the police, a family member reported to the police that they had left home on Thursday last week (June 15) to purchase some food at about 6.15pm, and on his return, he noticed that the radio in the house was too loud, and that was unusual.
After knocking on the door without a response, he then apparently broke it to gain entry, only to allegedly be confronted by the suspect, who is a family member, in possession of a firearm.
Not long afterwards, he is said to have seen the lifeless body of his 71-year-old grandmother as well as the lifeless bodies of three children, aged 3, 8, and 10, in a separate bedroom.
His 22-year-old sister was lying on the floor with gunshot wounds. She was rushed to the hospital for medical treatment and was fighting for her life.
The three children and the grandmother were certified dead on the scene after the arrival of the local police and paramedics.
Police were also able to discover cartridges and ammunition at the scene.
A case of four counts of murder and one of attempted murder was opened and is being investigated by the police.
The man was arrested in possession of a firearm believed to have been used in the commission of the crime, which was confiscated for further investigation.
The provincial commissioner of the SAPS in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant-General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela, strongly condemned the fatal shooting of the family members while applauding members for their swift response.
The Star