‘Innocent’ teen dies after being riddled with bullets in Wentworth drive-by shooting

The south Durban community of Wentworth is reeling from the shooting of a teenager, who was riddled with bullets outside his home on Wednesday night.

Police spokesperson Capt Nqobile Gwala said unknown gunmen shot the 16-year-old on Landsdowne Road at about 7.30pm.

“He sustained multiple gunshot wounds to the body and was rushed to hospital for medical attention and succumbed to his injuries upon arrival.

“The motive for the shooting is unknown. A case of murder is being investigated by Wentworth SAPS,” said Gwala.

Pastor Donny Anderson, chair of the Wentworth community policing forum, said another innocent life had been taken.

“Most of the things going on in Wentworth are drive-by shootings. People just see a car going past and that’s about it. This innocent boy was standing in the yard of the complex he lived at and got hit.

“Turf wars have been going on for some time between known people. The problem we have here is that our police station can’t cope with the magnitude.”

Anderson said meetings with authorities and requests for intervention resulted in the establishment of a task team. 

“Three years ago we were instrumental in getting a specialised task unit for gang and drug-related issues for Wentworth.

“They then became a KwaZulu-Natal task team. They are all over the province except in Wentworth where we have huge problems.

“We’ve had three shootings this week. Our people are dying, we as ministers are burying them, parents are crying.

“If the community stands up we can overtake this issue, but the problem with our people is that they are scared to stand up,” said Anderson.

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