Somerset West police are investigating a case of murder after a woman was fatally wounded in a shooting incident outside her home off Winery Road on Tuesday 28 October.
When DistrictMail & Helderberg Gazette arrived at the scene in the vicinity of a local nursery, distraught friends and family of the deceased identified her as a 43-year-old mother.
Police spokesperson Sergeant Suzan Jantjies said the deceased was found wounded inside her vehicle with two gunshots to the driver side of her vehicle around 08:00.
“She died on the scene,” Jantjies confirmed. “Investigations are still in an early stage.”
A neighbour who witnessed the aftermath described the shocking discovery of Tuesday’s shooting.
The neighbour, a tenant living on the adjacent property, explained how she initially misinterpreted the gunshots: “I went up and looked out my bedroom curtain. I know that [the victim] has a little pellet gun, because we often have people walking at night, strangers, and she just takes two shots to chase people away. That was my initial thought.”
The situation escalated when another neighbour called with concerns: “My neighbour from upstairs phoned me and asked, ‘What’s going on?’ I said, ‘I don’t know.’ I phoned [the victim] and she didn’t pick up.”
She immediately called for help: “I called police and security. I pushed my own panic button and then everybody arrived.”
In an emotional interview, the mother of the deceased, spoke about her beloved daughter’s character and how the tragic loss has left her shattered.
“My daughter was somebody who was loved by everyone,” the grieving mother said. “You can ask anybody what kind of daughter my daughter was… She was a loved child, a God-fearing person. She didn’t deserve this.”
When asked how she learned about the tragedy, the mother recounted the devastating phone call: “My son phoned me and he said, ‘Mommy, there’s been a shooting by [daughter’s name] house’. I asked him, whether she is all right and he said, ‘No, mommy, she’s dead. She’s dead.”
The deceased’s sister-in-law shared: “She was jovial, she didn’t have a hateful heart. She loved everybody. She kept the family together.”
The family member revealed they had recently celebrated together as a family: “Just on Saturday, we had a family gathering. I celebrated my birthday and her son…we were all together.”
The deceased’s relatives also disclosed that she had been living in fear, citing personal difficulties experienced and concerns over her safety. “She knew that this day was coming, and she told us…”
