Patrons shot for ‘R50 cellphone’
Man dies, while seven are injured in rampage
The fiancée of the man who was shot and killed when a man allegedly opened fire on the audience attending a music concert at the Hillbrow Theatre is struggling to cope with his death.
Percy Ndlovu, 26, the father of a three-year-old boy, died and seven others were injured following the shooting in the early hours of Sunday morning. This after a man grabbed a microphone and announced that a thief had stolen his cellphone and allegedly opened fire on the audience.
The audience laughed when he mentioned that the phone may be worth about R50 but it meant a lot to him. At that point he allegedly produced a gun and started shooting.
Gauteng police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Lungelo Dlamini said the man was arrested on Sunday morning while allegedly robbing Greenstone Mall with other four suspects, who managed to escape. Dlamini said the man was among a group of five that robbed a store at the mall at about 9am.
“Police and mall security chased the suspects as they were fleeing after the robbery. He was arrested and four others managed to escape. During his arrest, he sustained injuries and was taken to Tembisa Hospital [and is] under police guard,” Dlamini said.
Dlamini said the man will be charged with murder, attempted
‘ ‘ I can’t believe he’s gone. I am heartbroken
murder, armed robbery and possession of an unlicensed firearm.
Ndlovu lived only a few metres away from the theatre.
When Sowetan visited Ndlovu’s flat yesterday, his fiancée and mother to his child Sibanesihle Moyo, 30, was in a bedroom with relatives.
Her brother Vusi Moyo, 40, said she was unable to speak.
“She is not coping, the incident is still fresh,” he said.
Moyo said Ndlovu worked as a waiter at a restaurant. “I did not know him very well but he was a quiet guy who loved his son very much.”
Ndlovu’s friend Brandon Gwaza sai d he was in shock.
“I can’t believe he’s gone. I am heartbroken. He attended every show where the group Shebba performed. He was their biggest fan and he never missed their shows,” he said.
Gwaza said he had stepped out when the shooting occurred. The chair where Ndlovu is believed to have seated had blood stains. The theatre room was filled with empty food containers and soft drink tins. Blood stains were visible in front of the stage and there was a bullet hole in a wooden door.
Gwaza said the man managed to walk into the hall with a gun despite security that searched people at the gate and door.
Gerard Bester, director of the theatre, said in a statement that management and staff were in “shock and deeply saddened by the unforeseeable and traumatic act of violence”.
He said a cleansing ceremony would be held later this week. Bester said closing the theatre’s doors was not an option.