A chaotic scene unfolded at the Ntuzuma SAPS station this morning as an alleged suspect disarmed a police officer and opened fire inside the building.
Image: KZN SAPS
KwaZulu-Natal provincial police says police officers were briefly held hostage by a suspect at Ntuzuma police station on Monday morning before he was shot dead by other officers.
KZN provincial police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda confirmed that the suspect was shot dead after he overpowered an officer and took a firearm.
Netshiunda said that the suspect had been arrested for attempted murder on Saturday and kept at the station's holding cells.
On Monday, two police officers had gone to the cells to process the suspect and formally charge him.
“Two police officers were charging the suspect at the cells when he overpowered them and started assaulting them, after taking keys of the cells from the officers. Police managed to call for backup and when uniformed police officers came to their rescue, the suspect grabbed the firearm from one of them and started shooting as he locked them inside the cells,” he said.
Netshiunda said the officers had to take cover as the suspect continued firing shots.
“The hostage situation continued for several minutes before tactical police teams managed to penetrate the cells and during the operation, the 22-year-old suspect was shot and fatally wounded. Two police officers, a male and female, sustained minor injuries during the scuffle.”
He added that the police officers who were held hostage will be temporarily withdrawn from active operations for them to undergo psychological debriefing sessions.
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