/ 25 April 2007

Hostage drama at Pretoria newspaper offices

A man who took at least nine people hostage at a Pretoria newspaper and wounded a police officer on Wednesday afternoon told them he was ”sick of crime”, said witnesses.

By 5.30pm, the man was still in the building with at least one hostage.

An advertising executive at the Pretoria News, Gomo Phiri (25), said the man had complained about being sick and tired of crime. He also told Phiri that he was ”ex-government” and ”trained to kill people like you [Phiri]”.

The hostage-taker also held a gun to his own head and threatened to kill himself.

Phiri said the man entered the first floor of the newspaper’s office in Vermeulen Street at about 3pm and herded staff into a corner. He told the men to get chairs for the women. After everybody had sat down, he let a pregnant woman leave before releasing all the others.

By late afternoon, he was still inside the building, apparently with a woman.

Said Phiri: ”I’m okay now, but I don’t know how I’ll feel tomorrow.”

Pretoria police spokesperson Paul Ramaloko said the hostage-taker had fired a shot, wounding a police officer.

Vermeulen Street was closed to traffic, causing rush-hour chaos in the city centre. There was a heavy police presence, along with ambulances and the fire brigade.

Independent Online earlier quoted a receptionist who said: ”There’s a man on the first floor in the building with a gun. He’s holding people hostage and no one is answering their phones.”

Before the website could get any more details, the person on the line screamed and the line was cut off. — Sapa