15 year old girl survives nine gun shots

Image credit: Lunde Studio (https://lundestudio.com/)

Three dead as Mitchells Plain hostage situation ends tragically

It’s a sad day in the Western Cape

15 year old girl survives nine gun shots

Image credit: Lunde Studio (https://lundestudio.com/)

A police officer killed both his girlfriend and her mother, before turning the gun on himself during a hostage situation in Mitchells Plain, Cape Town.

As reported by EWN, the 42-year-old servicemen had taken his victims hostage from about 09:00 on Thursday. Both a 54 and 27-year-old were confirmed dead by the police, shortly before the cop committed suicide.

Hostage situation in the Western Cape

Emergency services, hostage negotiators and news crews all crowded the area towards midday. Residents left curious by the hive of activity on the usually quiet Begonia Street also arrived at the cordoned-off scene.

What caused this hostage situation?

Police are still on the scene, trying to piece together what lead to this situation. Neighbours told EWN that this was something completely unexpected. Never had the officer or his familly caused any issues in the neighbourhood.

No motive has officially been confirmed by the Lenteguer SAPS team, where the officer was based.

Where is Mitchells Plain?

Mitchell’s Plain is a township of Cape Town, roughly 32 kilometers away from the Mother City. It resides in the municipality of the city. It was once dubbed as the most dangerous area in South Africa, but has seen slight improvements in the last few years.

When the October 2017 Crime Stats were released, Mitchells Plain was identified as one of the areas where the most sexual assaults were reported.

The police investigation continues, and the challenge to understand what caused this tragic event will be of utmost importance to the local community.