An East London mother, 44, and her 10-year-old son were shot dead in their car by unknown gunmen in Amalinda early on Wednesday morning.
Their assailants are believed to have fled in a white Toyota Corolla.
When the Dispatch arrived at the scene, the woman’s body was in the driver’s seat and the boy was on the pavement next to the passenger door of their bullet-riddled silver Toyota Yaris, while shocked residents gathered nearby.
It is believed that the woman had parked while waiting to pick up a colleague from a nearby block of flats.
A witness said police took more than 40 minutes to arrive.
“We were about three cars from the robots at about 6.50am. It was still dark, there were two men. One was watching and the other one was shooting.
“The child was shot first and then the mother.”
He said several people unsuccessfully chased the two assailants.
“On foot they turned left at the robots and ran down near Sohco flats and took another left again, ran and proceeded to take another left where they got into a white Toyota Corolla and sped off.”
He said they then attracted the attention of a traffic cop.
“Then a policewoman passed in a marked police car that was being used to transport children to school.
“I had to leave because I had to go to work after calling for an ambulance,” he said.
Traffic was backed up at Amalinda Main Road while police and forensic officials cordoned off the scene.
A woman said: “We are shocked that this happened so close to where we usually stand while awaiting our daily piece job.”
A man outside the nearby CTM said: “I am shaken by this. An innocent child and woman were killed, when will such violence end?”
He said communities should take action to stop women and children being killed.
A relative who lived with the woman and her child described her as a sweet person who worked for a local car company.
“We do not have any idea who might have done this or what their reasons might be.”
The relative said the mother had another child.
An East London police insider said the victim had been picking up a colleague who lives in nearby flats as part of her daily routine.
Another police insider said they had handed the case over to the organised crime unit, and believed it was a hit.
A police source based at the provincial office in Zwelitsha said the woman’s colleague, who could not be contacted at the time of publication, had heard the gunshots from her flat.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Siphokazi Mawisa confirmed police were investigating two counts of murder “after a shooting incident at Amalinda”.
“Police were summoned to the scene at Amalinda Main Road at about 7am.
“They found a grey Toyota Yaris parked in a parking bay and the body of a female, 44, in the driver’s seat, and the body of a boy, 10, was on the pavement next to the vehicle on the passenger side.
“The two succumbed to their injuries. They both had gunshot wounds on their upper bodies.”
Mawisa said police were appealing to anyone with information to contact SAPS CrimeStop number 08600-10111 or alert the police via the MySAPS App or visit a nearby police station.
Masimanyane Women’s Rights international executive director Lesley-Ann Foster described the shootings as a horrific incident which added to the statistics of 11 women being killed per day in the country.
“This is part of a bigger issue. They were probably shot by someone they know. This is the kind of thing that we [try to] prevent in the work that we do.
“The public needs to be alert. Not enough is being done to stop men’s violence.”
Children’s rights activist Petros Majola of the Khula Development Trust Project said the incident was heartbreaking.
“The province and the country are under a dark cloud. We should not be killing each other. The government needs to declare a state of disaster and look deep into this.”
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