DURBAN - FOUR people were shot, including a man who will undergo surgery to remove a bullet from his elbow, after robbers went on a shooting spree in Brookdale, Phoenix, on Saturday night.
The man’s family, who did not want to be named, said they were celebrating a 17th birthday party. While the man, his wife and child were packing the van to leave his mother’s home, two men approached and one began shooting at them.
His mother said the family ran into the house. In the drama, the man thought his mother and son were still outside. When he ran into the driveway to check, he was shot twice. His family said one of the bullets struck him in the stomach and the other in his arm.
“Some residents thought it was fireworks. The shots kept going off. They ambushed my son in the driveway. My niece and daughter-in-law tried to shut the door. One of the men wedged his foot in the door frame preventing it from closing fully.
“I don’t know where these girls got the strength from to hold the door. The man shot the door but the girls held onto it. If he had got in, he would have shot the seven of us inside the home. We are scared they might return,” she said.
Three bullet holes in the door bear testament to the close encounter. The men were wearing Covid-19 masks.
Reaction Unit South Africa spokesperson Prem Balram said that night the gunmen shot a man in his buttocks near the scene of the first shooting.
“It is alleged that the victim left his residence on foot and was making his way to meet friends in the area when he was accosted by two robbers. He was shot and robbed of his cellphone and wallet,” he said.
In another incident, two people were shot in the chest near Brookdale, allegedly by the same men.
The Phoenix police are investigating cases of attempted murder.
Daily News