Limpopo police have launched a massive manhunt for 35-year-old fugitive, Thabo Ali Molobela who allegedly escaped from police custody.
The escape incident happened at Sekororo Hospital on Wednesday.
“The suspect allegedly shot himself while being arrested over a week ago. A police officer managed to move swiftly to disarm him and quickly rushed him to hospital for medical treatment,” Limpopo police spokesperson, Colonel Malesela Ledwaba said.
He said Molobela was under police guard in the hospital when he escaped.
“The circumstances surrounding the escape are currently under investigation.”
Meanwhile, Limpopi Commissioner, Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe has cautioned that anyone who assists the fugitive would be committing a criminal offence and will face “the full might of the law”.
The police appealed to anyone with information to contact Crime Stop on 086-001-0111, or alternatively report to the nearest police station, or on My SAPS App.
Last week, IOL reported that police in Limpopo have traced and arrested the 35-year-old man who had been on the run after he allegedly shot six people, killing two of them, at Makgophong village, in Magatle.
At the time, police said the man (now identified as Molobela) was having marital problems with his wife, before the brutal shooting took place on August 19.
“According to reports, the suspect and his wife had marital problems which remained unsolved when he allegedly then resorted to shooting her, their child, as well as her sister and cousin,” Ledwaba said last week.
He said the shootings happened inside a car.
“The horrific incident took place while these family members were in a motor vehicle about to leave to Makgophong village, on August 19, at around 7pm. Unfortunately, the wife's cousin and sister succumbed to the injuries, while she and a one-year-old child remained in a critical condition,” he said.
The two deceased have been identified by police as Reneilwe Phogole, 39, the wife’s cousin, and the wife’s 29-year-old sister, Adelaide Mapulane.
Police discovered that prior to the shooting, the security guard had also attacked another husband and wife who were trying to help him resolve his marital issues.
“It is alleged that on that fateful day, the couple residing at the same Makgophong village met (with the security guard), trying to resolve their issues, but later on the suspect attacked the family,” said Ledwaba.
In the early hours of September 14, members of the Limpopo provincial tracking team, provincial murder and robbery, Magatle detectives, working jointly with private security companies and the farm watch groups, conducted an intelligence-led operation, after getting some leads on the whereabouts of the wanted man.
“The suspect was traced at Santeng village in Hoedspruit outside Sekororo. When police arrived, he allegedly shot himself, trying to commit suicide, but police managed to disarm him,” said Ledwaba at the time.
Last week, police said the 35-year-old man was quickly transported to the local hospital for medical assistance.
IOL