[Yippee!!! Death sentence… by accident… But heck… we can’t be fussy. Any law… is better than the lawlessness which we currently have. Jan]

Cape Town – Police have confirmed that a man, who wounded a woman and held a schoolboy hostage for hours, has been shot dead.

Police spokesperson Captain William Reid announced at 13:15 for the first time since the hostage situation developed on Thursday morning, that “a situation had occurred where the life of a child hostage was threatened”.

He said: “Shortly before noon shots were fired and the suspect was shot dead.”

Rusana Philander of Die Burger reported from the Monte Video primary school in Bishop Lavis on the Cape Flats “a hearse is on its way to fetch the man’s body”.

The man had apparently been shot dead by a police sniper, Philander said.

It was not clear exactly what happened during the final stages of the hostage drama, as Reid would not provide details though rumours were flying.

The hostage drama started at 07:10 on Thursday morning when the man, apparently a parent, arrived at the school and demanded to talk to 38-year old Joy van Hefer.

He shot her, wounding her in the shoulder. She was taken to hospital where she is reportedly in stable condition. Early reports said she had been killed.

The boy was in the classroom with her when she was shot. The man took the boy hostage. It is not known whether the man had any demands.

At one stage he ordered the boy to paste paper onto the inside of the classroom windows, apparently to keep police from looking in.

While police negotiated with the man for the boy’s release, snipers were deployed at the school.

About noon, Philander reported shooting from the school. She said “five, six” shot rang out.

Immediately afterwards police were seen rushing the boy on a stretcher from the classroom to a waiting ambulance.

She said the boy was apparently not injured, but “severely traumatised”.

The teachers and pupils were taken to the hall of a nearby school about mid-morning where they received counselling.

Reid said the Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD) would supervise the follow-up investigation, Sapa reported.

Reid declined to say whether the man was in fact a policeman – another rumour – and whether the child was related to him. Early reports said the boy was neither related to the teacher, nor the man.

Reid referred all further questions to the ICD.

Source: News24.Com
URL: http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/New…/p>