Gunmen stop shooting when they realise mistake

As more details emerge regarding Saturday’s horrifying shootings and tragic accident on the Colenso/Pieters road, the more certain it is that the initial shooting was a case of mistaken identity.

When a group of heavily-armed men travelling in a Toyota Avanza chased a GP-registered Mercedes down the road, they believed they were following another Mercedes. As they opened fire without warning, the intention was clearly to kill everyone in the vehicle. The occupants of the Mercedes were, however, all women returning from a wedding and clearly not the intended targets.

The women had been to a wedding in Ezakheni and being from Gauteng, they were trying to find their way out of the sprawling township when the gunmen pulled up behind them and opened fire.

One woman was killed instantly and another is believed to have died in hospital. The fate of the other three women in hospital is unknown at this stage, but they were alive in hospital as of Sunday night.

A taxi, heading into the township from Ladysmith, tried to avoid the unfolding carnage and collided with an oncoming truck.

With death and destruction everywhere, and people screaming in agony, the callous gunmen brought their vehicle to a halt and approached the Mercedes, obviously intent on finishing the job.

At this stage, they may have realised they had shot at the wrong vehicle, as they jumped back into their vehicle without firing another shot. They sped away towards Ezakheni, leaving behind the terrified victims, the dead (including a 3-year-old baby), the trapped and the dying.

According to emergency services, four taxi passengers died at the scene and five more died in hospital later.

Around 30 minutes later, five men were shot dead at a car wash in Ezakheni.

Six men were in a white Isuzu bakkie, parked outside the car wash, when the brutal killers opened fire. Five of the six were killed in a hail of bullets.  One man was injured, but managed to escape.

While not confirmed, it is believed that the killings are linked to ongoing taxi violence in the area.

MEC for Safety & Security Willies Mchunu arrived in Ladysmith this morning (Monday) to visit the injured in hospital.

A special task team has been set up to track down the killers.

The number of dead remains a case for speculation, with 16 being the current number, while other sources stress that the number is 19.

Altogether, 28 people were injured or killed in the space of about an hour.

Latest story update: Update: Hit-man found guilty of bloody ‘October 11 Massacre’ which left 15 dead