Cape Town - When Strandfontein resident Raynon Beukes heard five gun shots, he ran outside to check what was happening and he saw a man who had been set alight not far from his home.
He said the man’s hands were tied with a cable.
“You couldn’t see who he was because his face had been burnt with plastic. I was the first one to arrive. It was shocking to see what happened to him. I used water to stop the fire. I did not see anyone or any car driving away from where he was,” Beukes said after the gruesome discovery on Monday evening.
Beukes suspected the man had already died before he was set alight.
“I think they killed him before they set him alight. It was a horrifying thing to see. He had no shoes and he only had pants on. I do not know where he was from. It was difficult to identify who he was.
“I knew something was wrong. Shootings do not happen often here. It is just unbelievable that someone would kill another person like this.”
Police officers recovered eight cartridges and a bullet at the scene.
When the Cape Times visited the scene on Tuesday, there were pieces of burnt plastic and wood where the unknown man was found.
Police spokesman FC van Wyk said: “At about 7.15pm, Strandfontein police received complaint of a shooting incident in Camp Road. Upon arriving on the scene, they found the body of an unidentified male lying on the side of the road. The dead man sustained several gunshot wounds to his head and also extensive burns to his body.”
He said no one had been arrested.
This incident was the second shooting in as many days.
On Sunday, angler Alvin Allies from Northpine near Blackheath was shot dead while fishing with his friend Pieter Terreblanche on Strandfontein beach.
Van Wyk said anyone with information can contact Detective Constable Samuel Mokganye on 079 894 1208 or 021 370 1589. Information can also be given anonymously by calling 0860 010 111 or SMSing Crimeline 32211.
Cape Times