Johannesburg - A return trip home from a party turned into a brutal attack that left one young man dead in Kliptown, Soweto.
At around midnight on Sunday, a group of four men in their early twenties were travelling through Kliptown in their Renault Clio, crossing the bridge over the Kliptown train station and an informal settlement. But the car engine stalled, leaving them stranded in the darkened area.
According to Kliptown police spokeswoman Captain Nondumiso Mpantsha, a group of about 10 men then emerged from the informal settlement and approached the stranded youngsters.
She said police have been unable to say whether the group of men were trying to commit a robbery or hijacking, but an argument ensued.
Mpantsha said a fight then broke out between the two groups, but the young men in the car realised they were greatly outnumbered as the conflict became increasingly violent.
She said it was still unclear when the knife emerged that pierced the upper body of one of the four men. His three friends didn’t even realise as they fled that they were one short, and ran until they had evaded their pursuers.
But when they came to the grim realisation their friend had not escaped with them, they returned and discovered him lying dead on the bridge.
Mpantsha said police were still searching for the group that committed the murder.
Meanwhile, Mpantsha told The Star the survivors of the incident were traumatised and did not wish to speak to the media.
Residents living in the informal settlement claimed they had not heard anything on Sunday night or the early hours of Monday morning.
The Star