Men open fire at neighbour’s house
Tenants, friends accused of break-in
Two men have been arrested after a shooting incident which saw two brothers and their friends landing up in hospital.
The incident took place early yesterday morning in Meadowlands Zone 9.
The mother of two young men aged 17 and 20 who were attacked and preferred to remain anonymous said: “My sons were just sitting with their friends outside the yard of a house in which they are renting and one of them was confronted by the neighbour who started beating him up for no reason.
“When he ran into the yard, the neighbour followed with three accomplices and they started shooting everywhere.
“My sons ran into the backyard shack, and these guys broke down the windows and doors. They dragged the boys from underneath the beds and beat them up with the guns. The only reason my son wasn’t shot at was because the one guy apparently ran out of bullets.”
Her son, who also preferred to remain anonymous, said they did nothing wrong to provoke the neighbour.
“The only thing he said was that his house had been broken into, and when he saw a group of us nearby, he assumed that we were involved. They beat me up with guns and I have been in pain the entire time. I’m just happy to be alive.”
Another mother, Ntswaki Tlhalele, whose son Lesego Tlhalele was hospitalised in Jabulani with chest injuries, denied there was a break-in at the neighbour’s house.
“After the shooting, the neighbour went to the police station to open a case against our boys. When the police initially came here, they wanted to arrest our sons for robbing the man, which was a complete lie,” she said. “It was only after we as the community and witnesses confirmed that they had got their story wrong did they arrest the neighbour. We are all deeply shocked and traumatised. My son is recovering, but he is unable to eat and is scared for his life.”
Another man said, “I first heard the gun shoots at 2am on Sunday morning and I went out. There was man shooting at the door and he just continued shooting, he did not care.”
Thoko Mosia, 42, a parent of one of the boys said, “I cried and I screamed when I first heard that the boys were shot at. I am very traumatised,”
The victims are aged between 17-22 years. Four of them were hospitalised. Three have since been discharged.
Gauteng police spokesman, Lieutenant-Colonel Lungelo Dlamini last night confirmed a case of attempted murder had been opened. “An 18-year oldvictim sitting with his four friends were attacked by four men in the early hours of the morning after 1am. After these four men left, they realised [one] victim had been shot through the ankles and he was taken to the hospital. Police have arrested two suspects.”