File
Two children were the only survivors of a family tragedy that played out overnight in Phuthaditjhaba in the Free State.
Police spokesperson, Sergeant Mahlomola Kareli, said a hostage situation unfolded early on Sunday night when a 57-year-old man locked himself inside his Mandela Park house with his wife and two children, aged three and seven.
He said police responded and hostage negotiators were sent to the scene, along with the Tactical Response Team.
Kareli says the standoff continued throughout the night until about 7:30 on Tuesday morning when police heard two gunshots coming from inside the house.
He said Special Task Force members found the husband and wife in a pool of blood inside the house, and they were declared dead on the scene.
The two children were not harmed.
Kareli said SAPS opened a murder and inquest docket and the names of the deceased have not yet been released.
