‘He fell in the rain and blood was gushing all over the place’ – family of murdered eThekwini Metro employee

The family of Colin Pather, the 50-year-old eThekwini Metro employee who was shot and killed outside his home last week, are still reeling from his death.

“I’ll be honest, it is really rough. For anybody to be taken away and murdered in front of his home, with his mother in the house, is horrific. We still cannot believe any of this,” family spokesperson Alvin Naicker told News24 on Wednesday.

Pather, who worked in the municipality’s finance department, was gunned down outside his Shallcross home. A single bullet wound to the head claimed his life as he arrived home. None of his belongings were taken.

Naicker said that one of the first people who got to Pather after the shooting was his mother.

“She was there and was basically one of the first people to see him after the shooting. Colin was still alive. But the people in that house are old. There was not much they could do.”

He said Pather’s mother had been severely traumatised by the incident.

“Colin passed away in front of her. That is traumatic for anyone. It is something no one should go through, especially a parent. He was also the breadwinner for his family.”

Naicker said family members had told him that the scene of the killing was gruesome.

“It was raining hard that day. He fell in the rain and blood was gushing all over the place. Nobody should be exposed to something like that.”

He described the killing as evil.

“The way he was killed was evil, callous and cruel. These are the words come to mind when I think about what has been done to him.

“He was opening his gate to come to his house. It is a person’s most vulnerable time. The mind is preoccupied. How can a man just shoot you in the back of the head like that.”

Police spokesperson Captain Nqobile Gwala said they were investigating a case of murder. No arrests have been made yet.

“He was attacked by unknown suspects travelling in a vehicle,” Gwala said.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.