Durban: Birthday celebrations turned tragic for a Greenwood Park man after his wife was shot in the neck in the parking lot of The Pearls Mall in uMhlanga on Sunday.
Chandra Smith, 25, a hairstylist, survived and is recovering at home after a short stay at hospital.
The incident, which was captured on video and went viral, shows Smith, a woman and two men walking toward a white VW Golf. Another woman is seated in the driver’s seat.
The unknown woman gets into the front passenger seat while a man wearing a black shirt gets into the passenger behind her.
Smith and the second man (wearing a white shirt) approach the driver’s side of the vehicle. Smith opened the back and moments later fell onto her back after being shot. She gets up and runs away. The man in the white goes in the same direction while the car drives off.
Smith told POST she ran to where her husband, Ramon Smith, was and that she felt lucky to be alive.
"My husband turned 29 on Saturday and we went to one of the restaurants to have dinner with friends. When we were about to leave, I saw the woman. By this time my husband was on the other end of the parking lot waiting for me.
“I knew the woman and I was talking to her. I did not know the man in the vehicle or the man with the white T-shirt."
Smith said she walked around the vehicle and opened the door to continue talking to the woman.
"All of a sudden, I heard this bang and I felt excruciating pain in my neck. I remember falling. I opened my eyes and just saw blood pouring out of my neck.
"I was scared and somehow I managed to get up quickly and run. I knew I had to get to my husband. I held my hand tightly against my neck and just ran for my life. I thought the shooter would try to shoot at me again.
"When I got to my husband, I fell into his arms and told him that I was shot. A friend drove me to a nearby private hospital. While in the vehicle, I could feel myself slipping in and out of consciousness. Everyone was trying to keep me awake."
Smith said the bullet hit the side of her neck.
"I believe it was God that saved me. As I was running toward my husband, I was praying and asking God for help and to give me a second chance. This incident has shown me that I serve an amazing God. While in hospital, He healed me. I was discharged on the same afternoon. Even today, I am not in pain but I am recovering well."
Smith said she did not know her shooter.
"I have no idea who he is. I also did not know the man in the white T-shirt. I only knew the woman. We were not fighting. I was just talking to her. There was no need to shoot me. He is trigger-happy and needs to be behind bars before he hurts anyone else. This is woman abuse."
Smith said security at the mall needed to be tightened.
"People should not be allowed to bring guns to a place where there are children and families. One would think that a place like the Pearls would have better security."
The mall management said it was aware of the incident.
"It is not clear if those involved were patrons of the mall. The Pearls Mall security immediately called for the assistance of SAPS and the uMhlanga UIP to help in managing the situation and to restore order.
"The Pearls Mall takes this matter very seriously and took immediate steps to increase its security detail in an effort to manage incidents such as this and to ensure the safety of its patrons."
Lieutenant Colonel Nqobile Gwala, a provincial police spokesperson, said a case of attempted murder was opened at Durban North SAPS for investigation. The motive for the shooting was unknown.
Meanwhile, the alleged shooter was arrested and charged with attempted murder. He was due to appear in the Verulam Magistrate's Court on Monday but the matter was not enrolled in court due to further police investigations.
He was released and will appear in court once the investigations are completed.
The Post