Police are investigating the deaths of two awaiting-trial prisoners who were killed in the Thohoyandou High Court on Tuesday.

“The two were today, at about 16:45, shot dead during an alleged confrontation with officials after they apparently tried to escape from lawful custody,” police spokesperson Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo said in a statement on Tuesday.

The two prisoners were being escorted from the court’s holding cells when they allegedly attacked one of the warders and attempted to steal his firearm.

“During the scuffle, several shots were fired and, in the process, the two prisoners were shot dead,” Mojapelo said.

The pair were facing over 90 charges ranging from murder, armed robbery and business robbery to cash-in-transit heists, Mojapelo added.

“Investigations into the circumstances of the shooting have already begun and have been taken over by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate [IPID],” he said.

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