Teen killed protecting mom, sister

Keanu Badenhorst who was killed during a house robbery.

Keanu Badenhorst who was killed during a house robbery.

Published Aug 28, 2015

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Pretoria - Keanu Badenhorst, a 17-year-old who was shot and killed during a house robbery early on Thursday, is believed to have died trying to protect his mother and younger sister.

Keanu was gunned down when two armed men broke into his family’s house at Bashewa Agricultural Holdings, in Welbekend, east of Pretoria.

The robbers apparently gained entry to the house through a small bathroom window.

Keanu was shot in the stomach when he confronted the pair. He died on the scene.

His mother, Lelanie Storm, and sister, Leandrie, 11, were in their bedrooms.

According to his grandmother, Johanna Vorster, 65, the teenager was probably shot during a confrontation with the intruders.

She said two men hauled Lelanie and Leandrie from their rooms, held them at gunpoint and tied them up with cable ties.

While the boy lay dead, they stole the family’s valuables.

“After they shot him they went to Lelanie’s room and tied her up. Leandrie apparently tried to block her door and fend them off with a skateboard but she was overpowered.”

At that point, three more robbers entered the house and placed all the goods they had ransacked in the family’s Mahindra van before fleeing the scene. The vehicle was later found abandoned in Mamelodi East.

Vorster said Lelanie had freed herself and Leandrie and they rushed to the grandmother’s house for help. She said they wanted to take Keanu to hospital but did not have a car.

Police said a case of murder and house robbery was being investigated. No arrests have yet been made.

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Pretoria News

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