Now here is a story that almost did not make the news.

Imagine this. You see a man fiddling with your garage door at eleven o’clock at night. You confront the man, who is apparently unarmed, and you fire a warning shot. You then fire a further two shots, hitting the "suspect" in the arm and in the back.

At this stage, most readers are probably thinking: "If I were the person who did the shooting, I am in very serious trouble and would most likely be locked up immediately!"

Not so …

On Tuesday this week the Zoutpansberger heard a rumour about a shooting, involving a policeman and prison official, which allegedly took place over the weekend at the police department’s houses in Munnik Street. A call was made to the police upon which local police spokesperson Capt Ndwamato Vele confirmed the incident. He pointed out, however, that the incident did not take place over the weekend, but more than two weeks ago already, on August 25. Why the media were not informed about the incident is not certain.

The police’s official response to the shooting, as per Capt Vele, was that the prison official came home and started fiddling with the policeman’s garage door. It is speculated that the official, who apparently also stays in one of the government houses there, went to the wrong house and tried to open the wrong garage door.

Nevertheless, the policeman, a constable from Tshilwavhusiku, heard the noise and went to investigate.

Capt Vele said that the constable confronted the man and gave him ‘n verbal warning. The man, allegedly, did not respond to the warning, after which the police constable fired a warning shot. Still the man, says Capt Vele, continued to fiddle with the door, despite the warning shot. It was at this stage, says Capt Vele, that the police constable fired a further two shots, hitting the man in the right arm and in the back. The injured man was taken to the Louis Trichardt Memorial Hospital for treatment.

Capt Vele confirmed that a case of attempted murder was opened against the police constable. He added that the constable had not appeared in court yet, as the case was referred to the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) for a decision. Whether or not the police constable was suspended from duty, pending the outcome of the DPP’s decision, Capt Vele said that he is not sure. The case is also being investigated by the Independent Complaints Directorate. Capt Vele also added that a case of attempted housebreaking was opened against the prison official.