A hostage situation lasted for five hours yesterday, after representatives of a security complex in Pretoria were sent to the home of one of its members to speak to him about his unacceptable behaviour.

However, instead of a peaceful chat, the man held the group hostage.

When police arrived at the scene yesterday afternoon five of the hostages were released and, after a shoot out with the suspect, a special task force team swept through the gunman’s house.

SAPS’ Captain David Miller reported to eNCA:

On completion of the search of the premises they discovered that the suspect was deceased. I can further confirm at this stage that three members of the community are also deceased in the vicinity of his house.

Among the dead is the complex security manager and two community members.

According to News24, the suspect was known for erratic behaviour:

There was no immediate information about the shooter, but Carl Coston, area manager of Brinant Security company said there had been complaints about him before.

Coston said the trouble started when a complaint that one of the complex’s residents was throwing stones at people came in.

He was known to behave erratically at times, so a delegation went to his home to speak to him.

When the door was opened they came under fire and ran for cover. One of the officers managed to get away quickly.

This is a developing story, so we will bring you updates as we get them.

[source:enca&ewn&ewn&news24]