Fury in Eldorado Park as police blamed for fatal shooting of teen

Eldorado Park residents on Thursday demanded the removal of police they blamed for the shooting death of a 16-year-old. 

Nathaniel Julius died on Wednesday night.

There were sporadic clashes between protesting residents and police on Thursday as hurled stones and burning tyres were met with rubber bullets. Residents accused police of being “corrupt” after the death of the teen.

Local development and economic civil association chairperson Majiet Amiene told TimesLIVE that things would calm down once police management had removed the allegedly corrupt police officials in the area.

Amiene said Julius died before he was taken to hospital in the back of a police van.

“A child was shot last night, he was shot with a pump action by a police officer and they are coming to say that there was a robbery ... That child doesn’t know what is going on around him. They are using all the excuses.”

Julius' sister told Newzroom Afrika that her family was broken.

“My brother was at the shop, he was buying some biscuits. Afterwards he went to the Hillbrow flats to sit with other children and the police came by ... They called my brother outside and they asked him a few questions but he couldn’t answer them because he is disabled,” she said.

Eldorado Park councillor Peter Rafferty said the community went to the police station seeking answers and “all hell broke loose”.

“People started burning tyres and the police came. When we arrived here we spoke to some of the members of the police station but they had already smashed some of the windows. Unfortunately, we didn’t get a chance to address the community because Gauteng metro police came in”.

Rafferty alleged that the metro police “started shooting” and said that angered the community.

“The community is saying that they will not leave until they are satisfied with the answers,” he said.

Rafferty said people wanted an assurance that the police official had been arrested

“From where I am standing the person has been arrested, however they should tell us  what is going to happen. There are a few members of the community who were arrested while some of these things have been happening. The community wants all the police officers from this particular police station to be removed.

“The police officer responsible and those members who were with him during the time of the killing must be arrested as well, and justice must prevail. We also want to see either the MEC or whoever from the high office to address the community and give them [answers as to] exactly what happened,” he said.

Gauteng police spokesperson Brig Mathapelo Peters said public order police were deployed to Eldorado Park.

Peters called for calm and restraint as the matter had been reported to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid).

“At this stage, damage has been caused to the Eldorado Park police station building while two SAPS officers and one Johannesburg metro police officer have been injured. Four suspects have been arrested for public violence,” she said.

TimesLIVE