A student policeman was shot dead and another injured in the course of a three-hour hostage drama at a South African police station on Sunday, a police spokesman said.
The drama began at about 5:15 am (local time) when a sergeant pulled out a gun and started shooting at the Philippi police station, some 40 kilometers southeast of Cape Town, spokesman Billy Jones said.
"He shot dead a student constable and wounded another student constable in the leg, before holding five colleagues hostage," Captain Jones told AFP.
Police authorities sent hostage negotiators as well as members of its special crack Task Force to the station.
After around three tense hours, the policeman told his colleagues he wanted to give himself up.
"He told the negotiators over the radio he wanted to come out. Before he walked out of the station he put his weapon down," Jones said.
The sergeant was detained and would be charged with murder and attempted murder, Jones added.
It was unclear what had caused the policeman's behavior, he said, but added that law enforcement officers in the country often worked in stressful situations. (Albawaba.com)
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