Ten Dead After Killing Spree By South African Police Detective

A South African detective went on the rampage this week, killing eight people including four colleagues and an infant before being shot dead by police yesterday.

Superintendent Chippa Mateane, 42, shot three women and a two-year-old boy on Monday night, then opened fire at Kagiso police station in Krugersdorp, a town west of Johannesburg.

The killings, shocking even by the standards of South Africa's violent crime epidemic, prompted calls for compulsory psychological counselling for police officers. It started around 6.30pm in nearby Tarlton, where the child and the three women, aged 24, 30 and 48, were shot. Radio reports said one of the women, Matshidiso Selena Mosia, was the killer's girlfriend. A fourth woman, 21, was wounded.

Thirty minutes later Mateane arrived at Kagiso police station and opened fire in an office and corridor, killing four colleagues. A fifth was wounded in the chest. Three of the dead were found lying under a table surrounded by blood-splattered dockets. Mateane fled in a police vehicle, then tracked down and seriously wounding his brother in Sebokeng township.

A huge manhunt ended at 4am yesterday. "He was finally shot dead himself during a confrontation with police in the early hours of Tuesday morning," a police spokeswoman said. During the chase a police car ran over and killed a pedestrian, bringing the total death toll to 10.

The national police chief, Jackie Selebi, said: "It is unknown what sparked such an unacceptable level of rage ... and it pains me to even try and understand."

Local media reported that Mateane had been troubled by his relationship with his girlfriend but had betrayed no sign of losing control. "We are all traumatised. He was a normal guy," a police reservist told the South African Press Association.