The difference between life and death for five-year-old Bonga Ngeva is but a centimetre.
On Saturday afternoon, Bonga was on a swing alongside his best friend, Kirsten James, at his favourite restaurant - the Oklahoma Spur, in Eastleigh, Edenvale. At that moment, about 150m from Bonga, gunmen tried to hijack a car and engaged in a shootout with their intended victim.
Suddenly, Bonga jumped off the swing and ran screaming, clutching his eye. He had been caught in the crossfire.
Bonga has lost the sight in his right eye. On Friday, doctors will operate to remove the bullet lodged in his skull.
On Wednesday, Bonga's mother Jacqui Ngeva was waiting to see her son at the Linksfield Clinic's high-care unit, where she and Bonga's father, Sibusiso Mcanyana, have been keeping a vigil.
"It has been an emotional time," Mrs Ngeva said.
"Bonga went to Grade 0 for the first time on Thursday. He was so excited. He came home and told us he had made so many friends."
Bonga had spent his holidays in Cape Town, and when his mother fetched him from the airport on Wednesday, he nagged her all the way home to take him to the Spur.
On Saturday, his wish was granted when Gretel James, Kirsten's mother, invited Bonga to go with them to the Spur to celebrate her 37th birthday.
Sharon Lloyd, one of the guests, said that at about 5pm the children were playing outside in the Spur's playground.
"Bonga and Kirsten were on the swings and the other kids were playing on the jumping castle. Then we heard gunshots."
"I looked outside but I didn't see anything. Then I saw Bonga get off the swing and scream," she said.
Bonga was rushed to hospital.
Mrs Ngeva was at home when she received a call that her son had been seriously hurt.
"When I got to Linksfield Clinic, I spoke to Bonga and calmed him down. I held his hand and explained to him that these people were trying to help him."
"He didn't understand what was going on. His right eye was swollen... It was just unbelievable that this could happen to a little boy. One second he is swinging happily, the next he is screaming in pain."
"It shows that people are not safe anywhere - not even at a family restaurant. I shake when I think that he could have easily died."
Neurosurgeon Dr Percy Miller explained that the bullet had missed Bonga's brain by a centimetre.
"It could have been much worse. Of course, it could have been much better - it could never have happened at all."
"Bonga has lost the sight in his eye for ever. In a cold-blooded sense, perhaps the eye is a small price to pay for what could have happened: brain damage or death."
Miller added: "Unfortunately, we treat people shot by stray bullets with monotonous regularity."
Bonga's father said the idea that one could be sitting anywhere and then become a victim was a terrifying thought.
"This is just the story of one boy who was caught in the crossfire. I think of kids in the townships who get caught in crossfire all the time."
Police spokesperson Superintendent Eugene Opperman said a motorist had been driving down Edenvale's Main Road on Saturday when he realised he was being followed.
"He pulled into the Willow Glen complex, about 150m from the Spur, when two armed men jumped out of their vehicle and tried to hijack him. The motorist pulled out his pistol and there was a gunfight."
"The armed men jumped into their car and fled. They left empty-handed."
Once the bullet has been removed from Bonga, it will be given to police ballistics experts. The question is: What if the bullet came from the motorist's gun?
"The parents can seek legal advice but it appears that the motorist acted in self-defence, which is recognised by the law," said Opperman, adding that no arrests had been made by on Wednesday night.
Anthony Millar, an attorney with Norman Berger and Partners, said that even if the bullet came from the motorist's gun, the hijackers could face a civil claim as their actions had led to Bonga's injury.
"The motorist was facing an emergency and was defending his life. You can't say to someone whose life is in danger: 'Let them shoot you in the head in case your shot hits someone 150m away'."
Millar said the incident was an indictment of society.
"It shows we just aren't safe anywhere anymore; that we can't take our children to the Spur without fear. People shouldn't have to carry weapons because they feel unsafe."
"When people take their child to the Spur and the child gets shot, the government has failed us. The government has failed this little boy."