Cape Town - A day at the beach turned to tragedy for a 12-year-old boy who returned home to find his mother dead, shot by heartless gangsters in a bloody gunfight in Manenberg on Sunday.
The heartbroken family of Abigail Eland, 37, say they watched as her traumatised son, Mikail, clutched her favourite pair of slip-slops, saying it is all he has left of her.
The single mom was gunned down on Sunday afternoon while visiting friends in Gail Court while her son enjoyed the last of his school holidays at the beach with family.
According to witnesses, the Clever Kids and Hard Livings gangs had been fighting in the area after a brawl at a nightclub, and Abigail was killed when two gunmen approached the council flat where she was visiting.
“She just walked in and was still greeting when someone put a gun through the window and we heard the skoot go off,” a crying witness says.
“The bullet hit her in the back and she was dead immediately.
“We don’t know why they are shooting here again, all we heard was there was a fight at the jol (party).
“But there is no Clever Kidz here so we don’t know why the HLs came to shoot in this house,” the woman said.
Police spokesperson, Mihlali Majikela, confirms the shooting and says at this stage, no arrests have been made.
Abigail’s mother, Mary, 69, was at home when a neighbour came to tell her about the shooting.
“I was at home when she was shot and we are in shock,” says the pensioner.
“We don’t know what happened there but her son is very traumatised.
“He came home from the beach with his aunty and was told his mother is dead.
“She is a single mother and he is her only child. I saw he hid her sandals and when I asked him, he cried and said that is all he has from his mother.”
When Daily Voice visited the family home yesterday, the heartbroken child sobbed inconsolably as he clutched the sandals tightly in his hands.
Family friend, Sharon Newman, described Abigail as a friendly woman who will be missed by all.
“She was a real people’s person. Always smiling and would never walk past you without greeting. We are very sad that she was killed this way,” she says.
Police are appealing for anyone with information to call Manenberg Police Station on 021 699 9400 or Crime Stop on 08600 10111.