Dad felt girl’s last pulse as her life slipped away
The killing of 7-year-old brings tide of grief to Ocean View
THE Ocean View father of murdered 7-year-old Imaan Solomons has detailed the last moments of his daughter’s life, before she was killed in an alleged gang shooting.
Imaan was shot in the chest and hand while playing outside her home in Libra Way.
She was rushed to False Bay hospital where she died.
Tuesday’s shooting also claimed the life of a 31-year-old man whose name was not released.
Police spokesperson Novela Potelwa said police were investigating two murder cases.
“A crowd that had gathered on the scene started attacking police and as a consequence, Public Order Police and Anti-Gang Unit members were deployed in the area to quell the situation and restore calm,” she said.
Potelwa said the body of the 31-year-old was discovered after the situation had calmed down.
Imaan’s heartbroken father Azmir Oosthuizen described how he felt her faint pulse as she took her last breath.
Oosthuizen said the ambulance took too long to get to her.
When it finally arrived, the nurse told him that there was no hope for his daughter, Oosthuizen said.
“She said if they (had) managed to revive her, she would be brain-dead.”
Imaan’s aunt, Natalie Solomons described her as a loving and happy soul.
“She loved lipstick and lipgloss. She was always happy.”
Community Policing Forum (CPF) chairperson Cathy Cronje said the whole community was shattered.
She described Ocean View as a gang station.
“Where do we go?
“How does a community protect its children?” Cronje asked.
Hundreds of Ocean View residents are expected to bid farewell to Imaan when she is buried today.
Anyone with information about the shooting can anonymously contact Crime Stop on 0860010111 or SMS Crime Line on 32211.
Her murder came just hours after President Cyril Ramaphosa visited 8-year-old Tazne Van Wyk’s home, whose body was found in a stormwater pipe in Worcester, location pointed out by her alleged killer, Moehydien Pangaker.
She had been reported missing from her Ravensmead home.
Pangaker, 54, of Connaught Estate in Elsies River, has a long list of previous offences, including the murder of a minor, but was paroled every time.
Police Minister Bheki Cele also visited Tazne’s family yesterday to express his condolences.
Cele said a task team had been established to investigate the releasing of offenders convicted of serious crimes on parole.
Tazne will be buried on Saturday.