Soldier shoots lover, lover's mother then flees

GALE NGAKANE
Correspondent | Friday January 8, 2010 00:00

The shooting is said to have occurred at Lephaneng- one of the newer wards in the village.

The women who miraculously survived the shooting were by Thursday still hospitalised at a health facility the police did not want to disclose for fear that the soldier, a 35 year-old Lance Corporal who also hails from Tonota, may strike again and finish them off.

Tonota Police Station Commander, Superintendent Reuben Mphoen, who emphasised he had to tread with a lot of trepidation in explaining what happened said they were still to establish what actually happened and the relationship between the women and the man.

'But what we have now is only a rumour that the younger woman is the man's girlfriend while the other woman is the mother to the young lady. Though they are now out of danger, physically, they are still in shock, hence we have not been able to interview them,'  said Mphoen.

A massive man hunt comprising of soldiers and the police has been set on the man's trail since Tuesday and Mphoen did not rule out a possibility of a shootout. He, however said, though anything is possible, they would want the situation to end as bloodlessly as possible.

'We are sure that he is alive because he has been communicating with other people by phone. Also, our search party has been able to spot him. But whenever he sees them he slips away.

'Just this afternoon (Thursday), he was seen at his lands, but he ran away, said Mphoen who, however was not sure if the man was wearing camouflage or not.