Cape Town - Family of one of the Gugulethu mass shooting victims say they are beyond distraught over the death of their daughter after she got caught in the crossfire of the deadly attack.
Vathiswa Langa, 23, was one of three people killed on Sunday evening when unidentified gunmen opened fire on her and four others on the corner of Malunga Street and NY8.
Langa and two others died at the scene, while two people were seriously wounded.
Police spokesperson Andre Traut said: “Police are investigating the murder of three people and the attempted murder of two others in Gugulethu on Sunday evening.
“Initial reports of the incident indicate that at around 8pm, unidentified occupants of a white Toyota Corolla opened fire at a group of five.
“Arrests are yet to be made, and the motive determined. We appeal to the public to approach us with information anonymously by calling Crime Stop on 0860010111 or by using the My SAPS mobile app.”
Langa’s heartbroken family say they still battle to process her death and appealed to the public to respect them during their time of mourning.
Her maternal aunt, Belinda Ntelize, said: “I don’t know how to put into words how I feel, but at the same time, I have to speak because my sister cannot at the moment. We are struggling to understand what happened, even though we went to the scene.
“My niece was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Despite her character as a person who was well known and loved in the community, she wasn’t involved in anything that would have gotten her killed.”
While they want to believe that the police would apprehend the killers, there were many mass murders in Cape Town that went unsolved, she said.
“At the moment the only thing we can ask for as a family is for the public to stop sharing and spreading my niece’s pictures, we need time to process this,” Ntelize said.
Langa, who was taking a gap year at the time of her death, leaves behind a 4-year-old daughter.