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Cape Town - Chaos erupted at Cape Town train station at about midday on Tuesday when a lone gunman opened fire on commuters before killing himself, witnesses said.
- Were you there? Send us your eyewitness accounts and photos.
“All I heard was ‘bang bang bang’ and I started to run for my life,” Shaun Jeroma told News24.
“I saw a man waving a gun and shooting in all directions. I had tears in my eyes because I thought I was going to die.”
Prince Ibe, who owns a café at the station, said he heard two shots fired before people “just started running”.
Gun jammed
“Another four bullets were fired and when I looked towards where the shots were coming from, I saw a guy dressed in all black with only his eyes open, pacing up and down,” he said.
“The gunman put the gun to his head three times and tried to fire. But it seems the gun jammed because the shots never went off.”
The magazine then fell out of the gun, Ibe said, pointing at it lying behind the police tape.
“He then walked towards [the far end of the station] and I heard one last shot.”
Police spokesperson Lieutenant André Traut told News24 an inquest docket was opened.
The unknown man shot himself on platform 24 at about midday, he said.
Commuters crowded around the cordoned off area at the station, where security guards and police struggled to keep the onlookers away from the crime scene.
Screams
Dr Zainul Parker, whose medical practice is at the station, said a bullet hit the window of his rooms.
“At one point he [the gunman] was coming straight towards us. But something distracted him and he turned around and ran in a different direction,” he said.
Patients screamed and commuters ran into the practice as the shots rang out, Parker said.
“The security guards chased after him and some people even ran towards the guy with the gun to see what was going on.”
Ibe said the incident had left him unsettled as the station area is usually “relatively safe”.
Metrorail said its train service was not affected by the shooting.
#StationShooting, Police incident at Cape Town Station. AfternoonPeak train service not affected by incident
— Metrorail W/Cape (@CapeTownTrains) October 13, 2015This story bout the guy who started shooting at Cape Town station, before turning the gun on himself, freaks me out as i use the train a lot
— Jabulani (@papa_action) October 13, 2015Gunshots fired at Cape Town station. No idea what was happening in the chaos. Just ran for my life! Hope no one got hurt. #gunshots
— Chez Pool (@chezpool) October 13, 2015Someone just committed suicide at cape town train station like 5 minutes ago, shot himself with a gun to his head.
— Bushie™ (@KeenanOliver47) October 13, 2015Just spoke to someone in Cape Town, police on the scene, one person died in the Cape town station shooting pic.twitter.com/DJ4i5FE4Kw
— Bongani Matwa (@bonganimatwa) October 13, 2015
