Six gunshots end a lovers' argument

With screams of "no" echoing through a Pretoria police station's charge office, colleagues of an enraged policeman, who had moments before shot his girlfriend five times in front of them, desperately tried to stop their friend from shooting himself.

Constable Vutivi Mabunda, 24, stationed at Moot police station, shot and killed himself seconds after he shot his girlfriend, Tsholanang Kgaladi, 23, three times in the head and twice in the shoulder.

The shooting started shortly after Mabunda, who has worked at the police station since 2008, came off night duty yesterday morning.

He is believed to have flown into a fit of rage shortly after arriving at his flat, situated near the station.

The couple apparently became involved in a heated argument moments after he arrived home. Kgaladi fled the flat and sought help from Mabunda's colleagues.

The cause of the argument is unknown.

When Kgaladi arrived at the police station, she asked for help in retrieving her clothes from the flat.

Provincial police spokesman Lieutenant- Colonel Tshisikhawe Ndou said Mabunda's colleagues phoned him and told him to report to the station to resolve the dispute.

The shooting, according to Ndou, happened moments after Mabunda arrived at the station.

Mapule Shilaloke, who was waiting outside the charge office for the release of her brother-in-law who had been arrested over the weekend, said she saw a policeman run past her with his gun drawn, screaming at her to run away.

"He was screaming, yelling at me to run outside and hide. As I ran, I heard people inside screaming and then gunshots.

"I heard the people inside scream 'no Mabunda, no, no' and then the gunshots. There were so many," she said.

"I was so scared. I just ran. All I could think about was hiding. I was scared I would be shot."

Attorney Tosin Adeyinka, who was visiting clients, said the shooting began moments before he walked into the charge office.

"It was crazy. I heard two loud bangs and then people screaming as they ran out of the police station. I just ran. I didn't know what else to do," he said.

As police secured the scene and paramedics desperately tried to revive Kgaladi, who later died of her wounds, Mabunda's colleagues gathered crying and hugging each other in support.

Many could be seen standing outside dazed by what had happened, while others paced up and down as they tried to comprehend the shooting.

"I can't believe it. He was such a good policeman. He was hard working. I never thought this would happen," said a police officer.

Another said Mabunda loved Kgaladi.

"He was so in love with her. She was his everything. I cannot understand why he did this. It doesn't make any sense."