Father kills toddler son in fit of rage

A Kokstad father killed his two-year old son and seriously injured his five-year-old daughter by slamming their heads against a wall in an apparent fit of rage, KwaZulu-Natal police said on Wednesday.

Captain Vincent Pandarum said the reason for the attack on the two children was not known.

A neighbour had heard screaming and went to investigate.

The neighbour discovered the 36-year old father "holding a child in each hand, slamming them against the wall of the house."

A group of neighbours had by then gathered and were trying to calm the father of six down when he grabbed a pitch fork and began hitting the two children.

During the incident his seven-year-old daughter arrived home - he then chased her with the pitch fork. She managed to flee to safety.

A neighbour managed to scale the garden fence and separate the father from the two children who "were bleeding profusely from the head".

The two-year old boy died before paramedics arrived on scene and his daughter was admitted to Kokstad's EG Usher Memorial Hospital in a critical condition.

Pandarum said the mother was receiving counselling.

A case of murder and attempted murder are being investigated. - Sapa