The DA will conduct an urgent oversight visit to Hammarsdale Court today (Friday) following an incident in which a woman was allegedly shot dead inside the court building by an off-duty police officer. The officer then allegedly turned the firearm on himself.
Mzamo Billy, DA member of the national council of provinces (NCOP) elected committee on safety and justice, says he wants to investigate allegations that the court management has repeatedly been warned about security risks at the building. He also wants to establish how a firearm was brought into the court and whether the security screening equipment and procedures are functioning properly.
Billy says there is also an allegation that another murder took place recently inside the court building, but that it was not made public. He says this allegation must be investigated urgently and that he will report the security issues to the justice minister after the visit.
He wants access to closed-circuit television footage, security records, complaints and incident reports and will ensure the material is preserved. He will also establish whether the independent police investigative directorate (IPID) has been informed of the incident. Billy is calling for an independent investigation into the shooting incident, the court's security and the alleged prior warnings.
Garrith Jamieson of ALS Paramedics says on Thursday the service was called to the scene shortly after 11:30 where a man and woman with gunshot wounds to their heads were found. The woman was declared dead at the scene. The man was critically injured and was treated by an advanced life support paramedic, after which he was rushed by ambulance to a nearby hospital.
This article is an automatic English translation of a Nuusflits article originally published in Afrikaans. Read the Afrikaans original.
