A massive police manhunt is underway for the suspects responsible for a deadly drive-by shooting in Reiger Park, Boksburg, that left six people dead and three others wounded on Tuesday night.
According to police, the attack was carried out by the occupants of two vehicles who entered the area and opened fire randomly on residents.
The incident has left a community in mourning and a specific family grappling with a devastating double loss. At the scene, a family member, who asked not to be named, provided a harrowing account of the targeted nature of the attack, which claimed the lives of his two aunts.
“This isn’t a case of wrong place, wrong time. No, not at all. They were targeted. They were definitely targeted,” the distraught family member stated. “Just looking at the proximity, you know, one laying here and the other there, they were definitely targeted.”
He further alleged that the gunmen returned to the scene to ensure the two women were dead, an act that also put his grandmother in danger. The family’s trauma was compounded by receiving threats in the aftermath of the shooting, forcing some to flee their homes for safety.
The emotional toll was palpable as another family member, a daughter who lost her mother, described the horrific moment she discovered the scene. “I never imagine actually coming to find my mother in the street actually like being gunned down,” she said. “As I was actually by her body, I felt a pulse. As I was feeling a pulse, those guys came back and they shot again. So, I had to run away yet again. She got gunned down like an animal.”
In a powerful and emotional plea, the first family member directly criticized the South African Police Service (SAPS), alleging a systemic failure to address violent crime in the community.
“We don’t believe in the justice system anymore. We don’t believe in the police,” he said. “I want the police minister to know that if any further action against my family happens, their blood is on your hands, sir.”
He accused the police of focusing on minor offenses while violent criminals operate with impunity. “We’re tired of the police in Reiger Park or in Boksburg in general going after drug addicts and instead of going after real criminals,” he said. “We want to see you fight real crime.”
The family is now living in fear, concerned that other members may be targeted. They have called upon the Police Minister and President Cyril Ramaphosa to intervene directly, insisting that the situation in Reiger Park, which they describe as having a history of such violence, cannot become the norm.
“The blood of my family members rests solely on the hands of SAPS,” the family member declared.
The community has expressed that such violent incidents are not isolated, with many fearing that investigations often lead to no arrests. The family of the victims is pleading for a thorough investigation and for the perpetrators to be brought to justice, hoping their case will not become another forgotten statistic.
Gauteng police have confirmed the manhunt for the suspects involved in the shooting is ongoing.