CAPE TOWN - Two police officers were shot and wounded during a hostage situation in which a man eventually shot and killed his girlfriend before killing himself in Philippi in Cape Town.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Andrè Traut said that the police came under fire during a police operation in Philippi East on Thursday night.
"At around 23:45 the Nyanga Crime Prevention Unit reacted on information about an illegal firearm at shack in Siyangena informal settlement, Philippi East.
"Upon the arrival of the members at the address, shot were fired at them, and in the process two members were wounded and admitted to hospital for treatment," Traut said. "The shack was surrounded by members of police in an attempt to arrest the perpetrator. At around 02:00 this morning, the suspect shot and killed his girlfriend who was with him in the shack and then shot and killed himself."
Traut said cases of murder, attempted murder and a death inquest are being investigated. The female victim was believed to be in her 20s and the suspect in his 30s.
The attack on the officers was condemned by the Provincial Commissioner of the Western Cape Lieutenant General Khombinkosi Jula.