Cape Town - A tense stand-off with Michael Volkwyn, who had shot and wounded a policeman on Tuesday night, ended on Wednesday morning with police raiding his Athlone home, and Volkwyn killing himself.
Special Task Team officers, armed with with automatic weapons, moved into the house more than 12 hours after the standoff began, and moments later paramedics rushed inside.
A single shot was fired moments after police entered the house.
Police spokesman Captain FC van Wyk confirmed that Volkwyn had shot himself as police had entered his house.
Volkwyn, described by his neighbours as a recluse, had been holed up in the house in Hazendal for over 12 hours after he shot a constable who had accompanied city law enforcement officers to confiscate dogs from his property, said Van Wyk.
The policeman was shot in the face and rushed to hospital on Tuesday night.
And while he received treatment, the street was closed off, as policemen arrived in droves to secure the area and begin negotiations for the mechanical engineer to hand himself over.
Police had been called to the home after one of the owner’s 13 dogs had allegedly attacked a resident, said Van Wyk.
When officers arrived on his property, Van Wyk said they had been attacked by the dogs and had to use a stun grenade to scare them away.
During the commotion the constable was shot in the face. Some of these dogs now wandered along the road, seemingly confused by the crowd that had gathered behind a barrier of police tape and parked cars.
Cape Argus