Jilted South African Kills Ex-Girlfriend, 9 Others

Outraged at being dumped by his girlfriend, a South African man shot and killed her and nine other people before turning the gun on himself, police said Sunday.

Seven others were seriously wounded in the shooting spree by 29-year-old security guard Bulelani Vukwane on Saturday night in the Mdantsane suburb of East London, about 460 miles east of Cape Town.

Earlier Saturday, Vukwane and his girlfriend, Nolunuyo Mbenya, had a fight and she ended their relationship, said police spokesman Stephen Marais.

Vukwane went to Mbenya’s house to try to persuade her to reconcile, and after another argument he shot her dead, witnesses told police.

Marais said Vukwane then went to a bar next door, killed a man and wounded the owner. He shot the owner of a pickup truck to death and drove off in the vehicle, then returned to his girlfriend’s house and killed her father, witnesses told investigators.

The gunman began firing at traffic and pedestrians, killing six more people, witnesses told the Daily Dispatch newspaper.

Vukwane fled when police arrived. They gave chase. Finally, Vukwane pointed his gun at his temple and pulled the trigger, witnesses told the paper.

The seven wounded were in serious condition at an East London hospital, Marais said.

Stotshulo Vukwane, the security guard’s father, told the Daily Dispatch that he had seen his son 10 days earlier and that he appeared happy.

“I am shocked. This is not my son as I knew him,” he said.