Dispute over goats ends in fatal shooting

An 80-year-old man was shot dead by police when he opened fire on them in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands following a dispute over wandering goats.

In a statement on Monday‚ police said Bergville officers responded to a report of a shooting on a property in Bergville.

"It is alleged that the suspect shot a man who entered the farm to collect his goats that were allegedly confiscated illegally‚" said Brigadier Jay Naicker.

“The victim was taken to hospital for treatment after he was shot in the face.”

A hostage negotiator was called in when the armed man resisted arrest.

"The suspect allegedly opened fire on the police and was fatally wounded in the exchange of gunfire. The suspect’s firearm was seized following the shootout‚" said Naicker.

A case of attempted murder and an inquest docket were opened for further investigation.

Angus Braithwaite from the Bergville Farmers' Association said that the shooting occurred in the man's yard in a small town outside Bergville. "It was not a farm and he was not a farmer‚" he said.

Braithwaite was responding to media reports in which local police had referred to the man as a farmer. "We feel that we need to rectify this because there is nothing positive said about the farming community in the country‚" he said.

“A minority within the community does stupid things and it puts us in a bad light. We get labelled as bad and that is unfair.”