A pregnant woman who survived a mass shooting in which 12 people were killed at a Pretoria hostel early yesterday morning has described how she hid under a bed to escape the gunmen.
Three children — aged three, 12 and 16 — were among those who died in the attack at a shebeen operating inside the hostel in Saulsville. Thirteen other people were injured.
Residents told the Sunday Times that crime has plagued the hostel for years, leaving the local community living in constant fear.
The pregnant woman — who did not want to be identified as she fears for her safety — said she had accompanied her older sister to buy alcohol at the shebeen in the early hours of the morning. Moments after they arrived, the gunmen entered another room in the shebeen. She could hear loud voices — and then shots rang out.
“Children in the room started crying, and I [grabbed] one and we hid under the bed. I didn’t know where my sister was hiding, but she later told me that she ran off. The people went inside the rooms shooting children, and they shot the mother of the children, who was on top of the bed.”
I was scared even though we are ... used to hearing gunshots at the hostel. I didn’t realise how bad it was until I came out. I am traumatised after seeing children lying on the floor. They killed a lot of people
— Pregnant woman
When she emerged from her hiding place, there were bodies scattered across the floor.
“I was scared even though we are ... used to hearing gunshots at the hostel. I didn’t realise how bad it was until I came out. I am traumatised after seeing children lying on the floor. They killed a lot of people.”
The woman said she started living at the hostel this year, but ever since she had first begun visiting, in 2019, there had been many shooting incidents there. “We are used to it, this is how we live,” she said.
The three-year-old victim is believed to have been the child of the shebeen owner.
The motive for the attack is unknown.
Police spokesperson Brig Athlenda Mathe said the shooting happened at about 4am. She said 10 people were certified dead on the scene, two died in hospital and 13 were receiving medical care in hospital.
A video taken by a neighbourhood group depicts a graphic scene, with victims lying in a pool of blood, some on top of others.
As police forensics officers combed the scene, members of the community — still gripped by fear — were wary of speaking out.
“You speak out, you don’t live to see the next day,” one resident said.
A visibly distraught woman said her partner had been killed and that she had wanted to go and close his eyes when his body lay covered in a blanket outside the hostel. She said he had told her he would be stopping off at the shebeen. She was later woken by a knock on the window and told of his death.
We are scared as a community, and we don’t know where these people are coming from. They just came in and shot; they didn’t say who they were looking for
— Neighbour
“I was woken up at about 4.25am and told that he had been shot. When I went there, I found his body in the corner, his blood still flowing. Then I went to check for other Xhosa boys I know, and they were also shot inside.”
The woman said she was in pain and shock.
A 59-year-old woman who arrived on the scene hours later said she was called by some of her family members about the incident. The woman rushed from nearby Mshongoville to try and establish what had happened. She said that her nephew and some other relatives were among those killed.
“I am in pain; I don’t know what is happening. I am still waiting to hear what is happening to my family’s children,” she said.
A neighbour — who also did not want to be named — said the shooting started at about 4.20am.
“There was a gun [shot] and then, seconds [later], the gun went off again. I counted 24 gunshots. I could hear the difference when it was going through someone and in the air — that’s when I realised that these people are not killing one person,“ the neighbour said.
Ten minutes after the gunshots, members of the community went to investigate after a woman started screaming.
“We are scared as a community, and we don’t know where these people are coming from. They just came in and shot; they didn’t say who they were looking for,” the neighbour said.
Another resident said the victims were transported to the nearby hospital in a minibus taxi, which had to do two runs as the ambulance was delayed.
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