‘My son was always respectful’
NEXT Thursday, Waylon Stevens intended to travel to Piet Retief in Mpumalanga to live with a relative. While there, he planned to train, and later work as a mechanical fitter and turner. But he was shot dead in Wentworth in Durban last Tuesday night.
While walking to a friend’s home, a gunman allegedly approached Stevens on Silvertree Road and shot the 21-yearold in the neck. Stevens later died in hospital.
His father, Gary Stevens, was at home with his wife when he heard the gunshot.
“Soon after Waylon left home, we heard the gunshot. We ran outside and my wife saw him lying on the corner of the road and someone running away. We ran to our son.”
A neighbour helped transport him to the hospital.
“But it was too late,”Gary said. “Waylon planned on leaving for Mpumalanga on February 17. He was excited at the prospect of becoming a mechanical fitter and turner like me. This was his opportunity and dream. My son and I had a good relationship. We both had ups and downs, but he was always respectful.
“Whoever killed my son needs to be punished by the law. This was not the first time he was shot. Last October, he was shot in the hip and the person got away with it. This time, the person responsible succeeded in killing my child.”
He said there were several shootings in Wentworth.
“We cannot live in fear anymore. How many more people are going to die here?”
Stevens’s funeral is expected to take place on Friday.
Colonel Thembeka Mbele, a provincial police spokesperson, said a case of murder was being investigated.
In a separate incident, a 36-year-old man was killed in a drive-by shooting on Major Calvert Road in Wentworth on Sunday morning. Another man, who was with him, was grazed by a bullet.
Mbele said cases of murder and attempted murder had been opened.
She said two people were shot, allegedly by suspects travelling in a car, adding: “The circumstances surrounding the incident are being investigated.”
Mbele said police officers have been deployed in Wentworth and were conducting daily crime prevention operations.
“Detectives from the Provincial Organised Crime Investigation Unit are working diligently in solving cases and to curb criminal activities. We are also appealing to community members to report all acts of criminality to the police. They can download the MySAPS app on their smartphones and can remain anonymous,” she said.