Residents of North Crest were left reeling in shock on Monday after a popular taxi owner and his three children were found dead in their home.
The children were found lying next to their father in a pool of blood with bullet wounds to their upper bodies.
Mthatha cluster spokesperson Captain Dineo Koena said they had been alerted to the shooting incident by a member of the public who made the gruesome discovery.
She said no foul play was suspected.
“A 48-year-old man shot dead his three children – one boy and two girls – before he turned the gun on himself. He died instantly in the house,” said Koena. The children are said to be between the ages of six and nine.
Koena said an inquest had been opened to investigate further. Police would not release the man’s identity.
It is understood that he has a wife and older children, but it is not clear where they were at the time of the shooting.
Distraught family members on Monday declined to comment. His distraught daughter struggled to fight back tears as she walked towards a contingent of media outside the family home in North Crest, requesting not to be interviewed.
When the Daily Dispatch arrived at the scene on Monday morning, many cars were lining the street and the area had been cordoned off. Fellow taxi owners and those in the bus industry arrived in numbers upon hearing of the killings.
All the taxi owners and drivers expressed shock, describing the father as a “humble man who loved his children very much”.
Koena said that the motive for the killing was not yet known.
One of the neighbours, Ezra Xaba, said that the killing left them shocked.
“We heard some gunshots on Sunday night but it was not clear from which direction they came. We were just shocked to hear the bad news,” said Xaba...