Johannesburg - Paranoia because of business robberies in Diepsloot is believed to have contributed to the killing of two Zimbabweans in the area on Sunday.
A Somali shopkeeper allegedly shot and killed the two men on Sunday evening. Spokesman for the Gauteng police, Lieutenant-Colonel Lungelo Dlamini, said he had told the police that the men had tried to rob him.
A resident who does not live far from where the shooting happened believes the shop owner was driven to it after having been attacked before. He was one of the people to rush there after the shooting. The witness did not want to be identified, and The Star has called him Phil.
Phil said that towards the end of last year, the Somali man, who now faces two counts of murder, was attacked in his shop.
“It is not known whether anything was taken. Earlier this year he was attacked again by a gang of five, one of whom was armed.
“It was in the evening at around 7. He was in the store at the time. Someone held the person at the till at gunpoint, wanting money. The Somalian got his gun and fired three warning shots and the gang fled,” said Phil.
“Now we hear that on Sunday evening, two men parked in front of his store. When he asked them to move their car so that the entrance to his shop wasn’t blocked, one of them slapped him.
“Thinking he was being robbed, he took out his gun and shot at them. I think it was paranoia, as he had been attacked before.”
According to Phil, the man who slapped the Somali shopowner is believed to have fled, while the one he had come with was shot and killed.
Phil said the community, enraged by the shooting, allegedly attacked the shop-owner. He then allegedly fired more shots at the crowd, killing the second man and grazing a third.
Police arrived, arrested the man and confiscated his gun. The community then looted his shop. It is believed his family fled.
Dlamini said he could not discuss what happened in detail as it would form part of evidence. However, he confirmed there was an argument before the shooting. He also said all the people were shot outside the store.
The Somali man was to appear at the Atteridgeville Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.
The Star