By Denver Donian
A jilted off-duty security guard ran amok in Mdantsane here on Saturday night, killing 10 people and critically wounding seven before turning the gun on himself.
Gray Security Services guard Bulelani Vukwane, 29, killed his girlfriend Noluvuyo Mbenya before embarking on a 90-minute shooting spree that ended around 10pm when, with police in pursuit, he put a 9mm pistol to his head and shot himself.
Inspector Stephen Marais said: "It appears his girlfriend's killing was pre-meditated, but what followed was the the work of a madman."
Gray Security spokesperson Mike Bennett said that to prevent such incidents, no employees were issued with firearms. The weapon used by Vukwane did not belong to Gray.
Vukwane, who had worked for Gray since October 1998, had not turned up for work on Saturday evening.
After shooting his girlfriend, Vukwane fired randomly at anyone who crossed his path.
The dead have been identified as: Noluvuyo Mbenya, her father Maxanjana Mbenya, Siseko Skade, Thami Jali, Madoda Makwedinana, Silyami Matthews, Zingisa Stemele, Lulamile Phantsi, Luyanda Zidumbu and an unidentified man.
Seven of the victims died soon after being admitted to Cecilia Makiwane Hospital in Mdantsane.
Of the seven wounded, two are in intensive care at the hospital and the rest are serious but stable.
Vukwane's father, Stotshulo Vukwane, 48, said he could not believe what his son had done.
"We last saw him on February 1 and he appeared to be happy and content and never mentioned he was having problems with his girlfriend," he said.
"When he left home he said he would see the family at the end of the month. I am shocked, this was not my son as we knew him."
Late on Sunday, police were still trying to piece together details of Vukwane's last hours and sort out who had been shot where and when.
Marais said the shooting apparently started at about 8.30pm after Vukwane arrived at Noluvuyo Mbenya's home, where a party was in progress.When she refused to see him he went to a nearby shebeen and shot and wounded the person who opened the door.
He then walked back to the Noluvuyo home, and when she eventually came outside to see him, he shot her in the head at point-blank range, killing her instantly.
When her father, Maxanjana Mbenya, came out to investigate, Vukwane shot him dead too.
A relative, Shallotte Lupondo, described the attack at the Mbenya home.
"He chased us all and shot her father and then a visitor who came for a meeting with the family.
"Vukwane came to me and just passed by and shouted: 'I have now come to make a finishing'."
While Vukwane was still at the house, the telephone rang. "Anyone going to answer that phone is dead," Vukwane shouted, according to Lupondo.
Vukwane then hijacked a passing blue Golf, forcing the driver and three passengers out at gunpoint.
He drove back to the shebeen, where he arrived just as Lulamile Phantsi and a friend came in Phantsi's Isuzu 4x4 in response to a call for help.
Before Phantsi could get out of his vehicle, Vukwane shot him in the neck, killing him.
He told Phantsi's friend he did not want to kill her but needed her to help him. She was to go into the shebeen to look for someone whom he believed had been interfering in his relationship with Noluvuyo.
The woman knocked on the shebeen door but there was no reply, and the two of them then went back to the 4x4, where Vukwane demanded that she hand over Phantsi's gun and cellphone.
He then dragged Phantsi's body out of the 4x4 and drove off alone in the car.
At nearby Ma Radebe's shebeen, he shot one person dead and seriously wounded another.
He then drove off firing randomly on motorists and pedestrians. He shot dead the driver of a maroon Nissan Sentra and then fired on a red Nissan Sentra, killing two and seriously wounding the driver.
He left the 4x4 when he saw the police were after him, fired at them and fled between the houses. When he realised he was cornered, he shot himself in the head.
Police recovered the gun stolen from Phantsi on Vukwane's body, but the second weapon is still missing.