Gangsters shoot KZN teen and threaten to return after targeting family

A family residing in Melville township along KwaZulu-Natal’s north coast are living in fear after being consistently targeted by armed men. 

Bongiwe Nxele’s family first survived an armed robbery earlier this month, and three days later her 13-year-old daughter Bayanda was shot multiple times.

She has spent the past two weeks recovering in hospital after the shooting. 

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“We were first held at gunpoint on February 16 and the robbers took everything in our house,” Nxele told North Coast Courier.

“While we were still processing that, a group of men appeared on the street and started shooting wildly.” 

Nxele said she and her family were sitting outside their home due to the heat when they suddenly had to dive for cover to evade the hail of bullets. 

Bayanda was hit in the leg and was lying on the ground. Nxele said the men then approached her and told her to get up. 

“When she said she could not because she was injured, they shot her again in her thigh, and told her that if they returned and found her lying there, they would aim higher.”

Nxele told North Coast Courier she believed the shooters came from a neighbouring township called Ntshawini. 

She also said the men had previously been banned from entering Melville. 

KwaDukuza Saps spokesperson Priya Nunkumar told the publication police were investigating cases of armed robbery and attempted murder.

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Edited by Nica Richards.

This article first appeared on Caxton publication North Coast Courier, by Sboniso Dlamini. Read the original article here.