A 13-year-old boy was allegedly shot and killed on Thursday by three men wearing balaclavas outside his home in Mawotana in KwaZulu-Natal.
Security company, Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA) said they received a call after 1pm, requesting medical assistance for a critically injured minor.
"On arrival, reaction officers and paramedics abandoned their vehicles and walked several meters down a steep narrow footpath to reach the boy’s home.
"Upon examination, he was found to have sustained close proximity gunshot wounds to the back of his neck, above his left eye, and his left hand. He showed no signs of life and was pronounced deceased," RUSA said.
According to RUSA, they were informed by witnesses that the teenager was chatting to his friends outside his home when they were confronted by three men wearing balaclavas.
"They began assaulting the minors while questioning them about the location of a firearm the deceased was previously seen with. They then shot the victim before fleeing on foot in an unknown direction," said RUSA.
RUSA added that the boy was in Grade 6 at Kwaginga Primary School.
Provincial police spokesperson, Colonel Robert Netshiunda told IOL that he was not in a position to confirm the incident as he hasn't been made aware of the shooting.
In another matter, a five-year-old boy was gunned down in Manenberg on the Cape Flats.
The child sustained a gunshot wound to his head while he was walking to the local tuckshop with his father.
The shooting happened after gangsters opened fire in the area and the boy and two women were hit.
The Daily Voice reported the five-year-old boy, expected to start Grade R next week, has been declared brain-dead by doctors at the Red Cross Children’s Hospital.
No arrests have been made as yet.
IOL