(Gallo Images)
Two people have been killed and several wounded in a stabbing attack at a mosque in Malmesbury in the Western Cape in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Western Cape police confirmed that the attacker was shot dead by police.
Provincial police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Andrè Traut said Malmesbury police were called out to the mosque in the early hours of the morning and found two people stabbed to death and several injured.
“A couple of hours ago ― about 03:00 ― as people got themselves ready to pray, the suspect just got up and started stabbing the people. He was praying with them,” Malmesbury Police Constable Henry Durant told News24.
No warning
Fellow worshippers said there was no warning that the suspect was about to commit the violent crime.
“There was an old man and he tried to cut the old man’s head off and the man died. Other people went to the Swartand hospital,” said Durant from the scene.
“This guy was not in a hurry ― he was very calm ― he did not run, he walked away. He had a big Rambo knife.”
Police officers approached the suspect, who refused to lay down his knife and charged at the officers.
“He ignored the calls and tried to attack police. He was shot and killed in the process. His death will be investigated by IPID,” Van Wyk said.
There is no identified motive for the crime yet.
“We don’t know anything. There is no information, there is no motive, there’s nothing like that,” said Durant.
Provincial detectives are currently combing the scene for clues.
Shock
The Muslim Judicial Council said it was “shocked to its core” to learn about the attack on the Malmesbury Masjied.
“We can confirm that two people have been killed whilst in I’tikaaf and another regular musallee of the Masjied injured.”
“We do not have any further details as yet but we urge the community not to jump to any conclusions until clarity can be given,” the MJC said.
The attack comes five weeks after a deadly similar mosque attack on a Verulam, KwaZulu-Natal.
READ MORE: One confirmed dead after KZN mosque attack
The mosque, which is attended by mainly Shia Muslims, also had its library petrol bombed during the attack. — News24