Cape Town - The mother of the teenage boy who was filmed knocking out a homeless man in the street said her son is not a violent person and “was acting out of character”.
But she agreed that there should be consequences for his actions.
The 18-year-old’s identity is known to the Daily Voice and according to his Facebook profile, he does kickboxing.
The mom, who asked to remain anonymous, told the Daily Voice she was at work when she received the viral video on Monday.
“The video was sent to me three days ago at my work, that’s how I got to know of it.
“To hit the guy is very wrong and there should be consequences.”
The 28-second clip shows the teen and a friend, who is filming the incident, on the steps of the Gateway to Obz building in Lower Main Road, Observatory, on Saturday.
The victim, who is wearing a cap, dark glasses and a mask, appears to be drunk and mumbles something to the teen.
The mom said her son, who is not violent, was provoked to strike the elderly man in the face with his elbow.
“But my son is not that person… I saw from the video that there are other boys that provoked my son,” she says, referring to the friend who was egging on her son.
“He’s not a bad child. I am in a million pieces.”
The male who is recording provokes the teen, saying: “Kyk hier (Look here), this guy is spitting in your face, man. Are you gonna leave it just like that, my bru?
The son, carrying a can of cooldrink, giggles.
The friend goes on to say: “He’s taking you for p***. You can’t leave it like that, my bru.”
At this the homeless man stumbles close to the teen and he suddenly strikes the man in the face.
The man lands on his back, out cold, while the friend shouts: “Jou ma se p***! Safe, my bru.”
He is heard laughing and the video ends.
The concerned mother said she doesn’t know what to do: “As far as I know there are no charges laid at the police station. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what the police will do to him.
“My son and his friends and other people saw the guy get up and walking, so I know that he is not dead.”
A witness who works at a restaurant near where the assault took place said she was convinced that the man died on the spot. “But after a few minutes, he woke up and walked away from the scene,” said the woman who asked to remain anonymous.
“I heard people say that he died, but when he left here he was fine, he was just staggering and I assumed that he was drunk.
Police spokesman FC van Wyk said: “This office is aware about the video clip going around on social media, and we have registered an enquiry to investigate this matter. Woodstock police are looking into (it).”