A quiet Tuesday night in Rocklands, Mitchells Plain, turned into a devastating scene when four masked gunmen entered a Viscount Street property around 9pm and opened fire, killing three people, including a nine-year-old boy, and injuring two others in the process.
The first details emerged from a family member who lost her grandson and daughter in the attack. She shared that she had been at a nearby shop when rapid gunshots cut through the evening air, as per the Daily Voice.
‘I was at the shop across the veld when I heard gunshots going off,’ she said. Neighbours told her that her nine-year-old grandson, Zechariah Matthee, had been shot.
‘His father passed away so I have been taking care of him,’ she explained.
When she reached the room where he had been, the sight confirmed her fears: ‘I immediately ran into the room, they shot Zechariah. He was shot in the face and in the head.’
Her account continued into the wendy house on the property, where 26-year-old Mougsheen Daniels and 19-year-old Cleo Bailey, her daughter, were also found fatally wounded.
‘I saw Mougsheen sitting, he was already shot in the head. My daughter, Cleo, was lying by her bed, also shot in the head.’
Two other relatives, aged 51 and 36, survived but sustained serious injuries, one with a broken arm.
Police vans lined the street the morning after the shooting as officers searched for evidence and questioned several men for information.
Police spokesperson Colonel Andrè Traut confirmed that the South African Police Service has assigned Anti-Gang Unit detectives to the case, according to the Cape Times.
‘Preliminary reports indicate that four unidentified gunmen opened fire on the premises before entering the house and shooting the victims,’ he said.
‘Detectives from the Anti-Gang Unit have been assigned to the investigation and are pursuing several promising leads to track down the perpetrators responsible for this heinous crime.’
SAPS has appealed to Mitchells Plain residents with any information to come forward.
As the investigation continues, families prepare to bury their loved ones, and the Rocklands community grapples with another night marked by fear and unanswered questions.
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