Local police have appealed to the community to contact them should they have information concerning the culprit who shot an adult black male, last Wednesday evening in Laudium Extension 3, just before 9pm.
The shooting incident which took place at the corner of Bengal and Delhi Streets, has not only left the neighborhood talking about what happened that night, but has also left them living in fear, as they are really worried about the culprit still roaming the area and more so that the culprit is armed. Within minutes of the shooting, residents gathered around the victim who ran away from the scene and collapsed near Banaras and Bengal Street. Bengal Street resident, Aliyah Ahomed, who witnessed the victim screaming for help, told the Laudium Sun, “I was standing outside the front gate of my house, chatting with a neighbour at around 8:30 that night. After chatting for about 15 minutes, all of a sudden, in the quiet night, we heard a gunshot and then another shot. As we looked in the direction from where the gunshots were coming, we heard another gunshot. In total there were three gunshots. The sound was coming from the corner of Delhi and Bengal Street. Within a few minutes, we saw a black male running towards our direction, screaming for help and in a state of shock. Just then he fell to the ground. We immediately went to him and noticed that he was bleeding from his upper body. We quickly called the ambulance and paramedics for assistance. After being stabilized, the victim was then taken by ambulance to hospital. It was terrifying to see someone who was shot and bleeding profusely, collapsing right in front of me. Also, the person who fired the gunshots is still roaming the streets. This is really scary.” According to an eyewitness, the victim managed to tell a security guard who came later at the scene, that his name was Petrus Motsamai Ditake (40), and that he was from Itireleng, before being taken to hospital. Vivek Bhima of Laudium Disaster Management, who was also at the scene, said, “The suspect who shot the victim fled. Emergency services were on scene and transported the victim to hospital for emergency treatment. It seems that he sustained two bullet wounds, but we cannot confirm for sure. The circumstances surrounding the incident are unknown at present and will form part of a police investigation.”
Sergeant Simon Chokoe, said, “The case of attempted murder has been reported at the Laudium Police Station, but we waiting for the victim to come and register the case. Laudium Police were dispatched to Bengal and Banaras Streets, at around 8:50 pm, after receiving a report of gunshots being fired. Police have increased patrols in the areas of Bengal and Taj Streets, where such incidents seem to have increased.”