Two teachers killed in South African school shooting as police probe former employee suspect

Two teachers killed in South African school shooting as police probe former employee suspect

Event date: 2026-01-22

A school shooting at Ntabankulu Primary School in South Africa’s Eastern Cape left two teachers dead and another critically injured, according to police and local reporting. Authorities said the suspect was a former teacher at the school and that he died at the scene after turning the gun on himself.

The attack has shaken a rural school community and intensified concern over violence tied to people known to the institution. Police said the shooting took place around midday when the suspect allegedly cut through the perimeter fence and forced his way onto the grounds. Three female teachers were shot. Two later died from their wounds, while a third remained in critical condition in hospital.

Eastern Cape police spokesperson Brigadier Nobuntu Gantana said the man had been dismissed from the school in 2023 after sexual assault charges and was on bail when the shooting happened. Police confirmed they are investigating two counts of murder, one count of attempted murder and an inquest into the suspect’s death.

The report adds another layer of distress for a community that will now have to process both the loss of staff and the circumstances that allowed the attack to unfold. Acting provincial police commissioner Major General Thandiswa Kupiso condemned the shooting and extended condolences to colleagues, families and friends of the dead educators. She also said police wished the injured victim a full recovery.

The available account indicates the incident was not random. Instead, it appears to have involved a former employee with a prior disciplinary history and pending legal matters. That detail is central to the investigation because it may help explain how the suspect got to the school and why he targeted staff there.

At this stage, police have not released a full chronology of the attack or said whether additional security failures are being examined. They have also not disclosed the names of the victims. The most immediate confirmed facts are the deaths of two teachers, the hospitalisation of a third, and the death of the suspected shooter at the scene.

For local residents and staff, the grim sequence has turned an ordinary school day into a scene of homicide, attempted murder and ongoing inquiry. The investigation now has to answer not only what happened inside the school, but how a former employee was able to return with a firearm and carry out the attack.