According to Yusuf Abramjee, who tweeted the news early this morning, the officers died during a hostage situation at the police station. The detainee allegedly shot himself after the incident.
Emer-G-med posted a picture from the crime scene and said the following on their facebook page regarding the incident:
However, SABC journalist Jacques Steenkamp tweeted that police said it was still to be established whether the police task team killed the armed detainee or whether he killed himself.
Reports suggest the detainee was not searched correctly when he was booked into the holding cells.
According to Sergeant Nduduzi Zondo, the officers were shot in the holding cells at the police station. Zondo said the suspect was believed to be carrying a hand gun before entering the holding cells.
Eye Witness News has reported that the detainee was a hijacking suspect, who was arrested on 30 January in Booysens. The news organisation has reported that when the tactical response team arrived the detainee switched off the lights and randomly opened fire.
Updates to follow.
Below are some of the tweets about the incident:
https://twitter.com/IntelliBureau/status/561399947413966848
https://twitter.com/Abramjee/status/561357764962697216
https://twitter.com/JacqueSteenkamp/status/561346347492974592https://twitter.com/JacqueSteenkamp/status/561346687399366657https://twitter.com/JacqueSteenkamp/status/561321695957757953
The detainee at the #JoburgCentral police station allegedly wasn't searched when he was brought into the holding cells. #sabcnews
— Jacques Steenkamp (@JacqueSteenkamp) January 31, 2015
I've left the #JoburgCentral station to file, but the SAPS Chaplains are there giving trauma counseling to their members #sabcnews
— Jacques Steenkamp (@JacqueSteenkamp) January 31, 2015
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