Cape Town - The families of five young men from Site C Khayelitsha, who were involved in a shooting incident on the corner of Auber Street and Swartklip Road in Mandalay, say they are still struggling to come to terms with the deaths of the two young friends.
The boys, according to their families, were on their way home after withdrawing money at an ATM in Mandalay when they were accosted by unknown suspects who opened fire on them.
Two were declared dead at the scene while one was left seriously injured and transported to a nearby hospital. Two brothers who were also among the group survived the attack with minor injuries.
Police spokesperson Wesley Twigg said police have begun investigating the shocking incident and searching for the suspects involved.
He said: “Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding a shooting incident on Sunday morning, October 31, at about 6:30am on the corner of Auber Street and Swartklip Road, Mandalay.
“Two men in their twenties were shot and fatally wounded, and a 24-year-old male shot and wounded. Two cases of murder and a case of attempted murder have been registered for investigation following the fatal shooting. According to reports, the victims were walking in the road when they were approached by unknown suspects who shot at them.
“Two victims in their twenties were declared deceased on the scene by medical personnel. The other victim was taken to a medical facility for medical treatment. The suspects fled the scene and are yet to be arrested,” said Twigg.
Community leader and aunt to one of the victims Phumla Butshingi said the four young men had left home in the morning to go and withdraw money at an ATM in Site C when they were approached by the suspects who then proceeded to harass them.
“We don't really know what happened, aside from the fact that the boys left home to go withdraw money this morning. However, when they got to the ATM, the suspects began harassing them trying to get them to leave.
“We don’t know if they wanted to rob them or what, but people told us that they wouldn’t let them use the ATM and kept verbally harassing them until the boys left to go to another garage.
“Unfortunately they were followed there too. The boys didn’t realise they were being tailed when they went to the ATM in Mandalay, up until the suspects opened fire on them shooting two dead, and injuring two of them who were rushed to the hospital.
“My nephew was one of the boys killed. I can’t believe it, there is no making sense of what happened because he’s gone now,” said Butshingi.
A family member of one of the brothers who survived the attack said she had been shocked when her nephew ran into her home saying they were being shot at, and that he had left his brother at the scene.
She said: “My nephew came running to my house when the shooting happened. That’s how he survived the attack. He told us what was happening and that he’d left his brother there, so we quickly looked for a car and went to the scene.
“Fortunately, his brother had also managed to get away. He said he had hitched a ride from someone and gone home. I can’t tell you for sure what happened, but we all suspect it was a robbery gone bad. The other boys died and one was left seriously wounded.”
Anyone with information can contact Crime Stop anonymously at 08600 10111 or via the MySAPSApp.