Johannesburg - Police reportedly had to break into locked cells to find the bodies of two police officers who were killed at the weekend.
The murders took place at Johannesburg Central police station on Friday night after a detainee was arrested in Booysens and taken to the cells at the police station.
“When you arrive at the cells, the suspect must be handed over and booked in,” said a colleague of the murdered policemen. He did not want to be named.
“The warrant officer who worked at the cells told the suspect to take out all the items he had, but the suspect took out a gun and shot him. Another officer who was also at the cells managed to hide away because he only had a hand radio, and no weapon.”
The officer SMSed the Booysens station for help, and the station called Johannesburg Central.
“The constable from (Joburg) Central then went down to try to help. He went down acting as if he were a suspect to distract the killer. I don’t know if there was a scuffle because there were no witnesses, but the constable was shot,” he said.
The colleague said that when other police officers went down to the cells, they found the door to the cells locked and the area in darkness. The suspect had allegedly switched off the lights and locked the door.
“They had to break in and they found all three bodies on the floor. The suspect had allegedly shot himself in the mouth,” he said.
Police spokeswoman Colonel Noxolo Kweza said the 31-year-old suspect had been arrested for possession of dagga.
The constable worked at Joburg Central and the warrant officer at Booysens police station.
Another colleague and friend of one of the slain men said he was disappointed and sad. “He was one of my very best friends. A very good guy. We went to many places together. During the time of the incident, I was working elsewhere.
“He was going to get married soon as he had just got engaged to his girlfriend,” said the colleague.
The constable lived in Protea Glen and was originally from Mount Fletcher in the Eastern Cape.
The Star