News24 | Two Limpopo cops killed in ‘murder-suicide’

Two police officers were killed in an apparent murder-suicide at the Ritavi police station in Limpopo on Monday morning.

Two police officers were killed in an apparent murder-suicide at the Ritavi police station in Limpopo early on Monday morning.

According to preliminary reports, a 40-year-old police sergeant from the Mopani District office went to a 31-year-old constable from the Ritavi police station’s home shortly before midnight on Sunday.

Police spokesperson Brigadier Hlulani Mashaba described the incident as one of domestic violence and said an argument broke out, prompting the constable to call her colleagues for assistance.

Officers responded and escorted her to the Ritavi police station in Nkowankowa, outside Tzaneen, for her safety.

After initially leaving the scene for Giyani, the sergeant allegedly had a change of heart and went to the Ritavi station.

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There, he allegedly found the constable at the community service centre of the Ritavi police station, shot and killed her, then turned the firearm on himself.

Both officers died at the scene.

The Independent Police Investigative Directorate is investigating.

Limpopo top cop Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe said she was profoundly “shocked and disappointed” by the tragedy, specifically during 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children.

Hadebe said:

“We urgently appeal to all members experiencing relationship difficulties, emotional distress, or domestic conflict to seek professional help without delay.”

Hadebe urged SA Police Service members to use the organisation’s employee health and wellness programmes rather than resorting to violence, and conveyed her condolences to the families, colleagues, and friends of the deceased officers.