An elderly man from Sedgefield in the Southern Cape is reported to have shot his wife in their home on Saturday night, before turning the gun on himself.
Police captain Malcolm Pojie says when police officers arrived on the scene in Disa Street, the man, in his mid 70s, was already dead.
Paramedics rushed the woman, who is in her late 60's, to a nearby hospital. She is in a critical condition.
Pojie told Algoafm News that the couple were both wheelchair bound. He said an inquest had been opened around the man's death and that a case of attempted murder was also being investigated.
The circumstances surrounding the shooting are unclear.
Meanwhile: Southern Cape Police have arrested a 21-year-old man in connection with the murder of his 55 year-old mother Fransiena van der Merwe from Riversdal.
Fransiena's body was found in bushes near the small town of Vermaaklikheid three days ago.A post mortem indicates that Fransiena was hit in the face with a blunt object.
The suspect will appear in the Riversdal Magistrate's court on Monday.
