True Crime Junkies: Firearms and family fatalities

Being South African means that we are more vigilant about crime. We know we might become a statistic at any moment, and some of us already have, so we prepare ourselves, anticipate the danger, and act accordingly.

How many of you own a weapon for safety purposes?

On June 5, 2018, Sibusiso Emmanuel Tshabalala, a Johannesburg father, shot and killed his 16-year-old son, Luyanda.

That fateful evening, Sibusiso took his son to extra classes at Fred Norman Secondary School.

While waiting in the car for his son, he fell asleep. When Luyanda knocked on the window to wake his father, his father mistook him for a hijacker and shot him.

I have read so many cases like these; so incredibly sad. How unfair that we are pushed to weaponise ourselves to protect our families, and then accidents like these happen.

An inconsolable Sibusiso pleaded guilty to murder but only received a suspended sentence, losing his son punishment enough.

Another heartbreaking story is that of a Centurion family whose home was broken into in May 2012.

The father was awoken by a commotion in their home and went downstairs to investigate. He spotted a robber in the house and rushed upstairs for his firearm, closing the door behind him.

He fired a shot when he heard noises outside their bedroom door. The bullet meant for the burglars hit his eight-year-old daughter. She was rushed to the hospital in a critical condition, where she later died.

Former Springbok rugby player Rudi Visagie also mistook his daughter for a burglar, accidentally shooting her.

Rudi and his wife woke to the sounds of someone trying to steal their daughter’s car, or so they thought. The car was moving out of the driveway when Rudi shot at the vehicle.

Owning a firearm might make us feel safer living in a crime-ridden country, but it could also be fatal.

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