Davin Afrika was killed on Friday. Picture: Supplied
Just two days away from his birthday, a four-year-old boy was shot and killed while sleeping next to his pregnant mother in Wesbank.
Two bullets struck little Davin Afrika in his back on Friday night.
His distraught aunt, Letania Smith, 31, explained that she received a call from her sister informing her of the shooting at around 10pm.
“When I arrived, the police had not yet arrived and my nephew was still laying there. He was in bed with his mom when this happened.
“The shooter was standing in the yard, and started shooting at the Wendy house my sister was in with her family. Then they shot at the servant’s quarter where they shot a man, he was shot twice in the back and he was struck three times in his leg.”
Smith said the shooter didn’t go inside.
“That was evident as the police picked up 25 bullet casings on the scene.”
She stated that more than a year ago, her niece Kelly-Amber Koopman was shot while sitting with her friends.
“My 12-year-old niece was shot in November 2023; it was during load shedding when she was shot in the head.
“My sister has now lost two children to gang bullets. She is left with a three-year-old daughter and is five months pregnant.
“My children’s fathers were also killed, we have dealt with so much loss and I will have to take care of my sister because she is really not well.”
Smith said the gang war in Wesbank is between the Americans and the Dixie Boys.
“In the last few weeks, there have been daily shootings in E-block, this happens especially on Sundays.
“The police do not patrol. When I got to the scene, there were no police, we struggled with the ambulance and the police. The people are so fed up with the police. We have lost faith in the police; our neighbour died; he was shot in the field The police never arrived until I stopped a van on the main road, he could have lived but the police took too long.
“The people want the president to come here. Wesbank is in a dire state; we can’t send our children to shops or schools.
“We are also scared to go to the shops, we can’t take taxis to shops. We are in the American gang territory and the Dixie boys are fighting.”
Wesbank Women Movement founder, Elvina Cleghorn, said they want a satellite police station.
“We have protested many times demanding our own police station because we are not happy with Mfuleni police station.
“We are still waiting. The struggle continues but we will not stop petitioning because our area has too many killings. Our crime activists have lied and said the shootings have decreased, and yet, there are shootings every day.
“The guns which are confiscated make their way back to the streets.”
Police spokesperson Sergeant Wesley Twigg said the circumstances surrounding a shooting incident on Friday evening are under investigation.
“Police members responded to a complaint of a shooting and upon arrival on the scene, they found the victims with gunshot wounds to their bodies. The four-year-old victim was declared deceased on the scene by medical personnel, while the other victim, a 30-year-old man, was taken to a medical facility for medical treatment. The motive for the attack is yet to be determined. The suspect/s fled the scene and are yet to be arrested.
“Mfuleni detectives are investigating murder and attempted murder cases.”
Anyone with any information about this incident can contact Crime Stop on 08600 10111.
mandilakhe.tshwete@inl.co.za