Policeman goes on the rampage
2008-05-15
Lise Beyers
AN out of control police officer shot a lady friend to death this past weekend and then turned the weapon on himself. The tragedy started when shots rang out in the police barracks Huis Pêrel Vallei in Hospital Street, Paarl, in the early hours of Saturday morning. Shortly after the shooting, the body of half-naked Debbie Kollie (32) was discovered in a pool of blood, sprawled across the bed in the room of Paarl East policeman Const Xolani Luvatsha (30). Luvatsha had fled the scene by the time that his colleagues came across the gruesome crime-scene. Kollie had been shot twice. The police received a telephone call from Luvatsha’s girlfriend, informing them that he had phoned her and told her that he had just shot a woman. Later the agitated policeman arrived at the home of his cousin in White City, Mbekweni. He first threatened him with a firearm, before shooting himself in the head. Paarl East colleagues of Luvatsha were still reeling with shock this week after the tragic events. A spokesperson for the station said that he started work as a student constable in Paarl East almost seven years ago. “He was a much-liked policeman and was very good at his work.” Kollie was a member of the Correctional Services in Porterville, and her relationship with Luvatsha is still unknown. She is survived by a young daughter, Jamie-Lee.
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