A 32-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the mass murder at a hostel in Saulsville, Pretoria, where 12 people were killed.
Gauteng police spokesperson Brig Brenda Muridili said the suspect was arrested in Polokwane on Sunday.
Muridili said the man is expected to appear before the Polokwane magistrate’s court on Monday.
“He is facing charges of possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition. He will then be transferred to Gauteng to face the full might of the law. The hunt for the remaining two suspects continues,” Muridili said.
Earlier this month 12 people were killed in the mass shooting at an illegal shebeen in the hostel in Atteridgeville.
Three of those killed were minor children, the youngest aged three and the others 12 and 16. The three-year-old was apparently the child of the illegal shebeen’s owner.
National police commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola previously said one of the three suspects police were hunting for was a parolee who was released in September.
Muridili said a multi-discliplinary team of specialised units, including crime intelligence, traced the suspect who was travelling to Botlokwa in Limpopo.
“They called police in Limpopo and provided a description of the suspect and the vehicle in which he was travelling. The suspect was intercepted by the Limpopo tracking team on the R101 in Westenburg precinct.
“During the arrest the team recovered an unlicensed firearm believed to have been used in the commission of the murders,” Muridili said.
She said the firearm will be sent to the forensic science laboratory for ballistic analysis.
Gauteng police commissioner Lt Gen Tommy Mthombeni said: “We are thankful one suspect has been arrested. We are confident the remaining two suspects will be arrested to answer for the heinous crimes they committed.”
TimesLIVE
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