An innocent young dad-to-be from Bishop Lavis will never get to hold his son after he was brutally gunned down on Sunday morning.
Austin September, 20, was at a matric ball afterparty around the corner from his home in 3rd Street when he was shot in a yard and left for dead just after 3am.
His devastated mother Elizabeth September, 49, says she could not bear to identify her son’s body at the mortuary on Monday.
The mother of two rushed home from Klawer, where she was looking after her sickly mother, when she heard her son had been shot and killed.
“I got the call from my sister-in-law and immediately came home. I still spoke to him on Friday. Hy was my hart se punt,” the mom cries.
“He was soft-spoken, he loved dancing. Before I left for Klawer, as I said my goodbyes, he asked for another kiss.
“He used to call me his ‘vrou’ and the weekend he sent a message to my niece to say: ‘sê vir my vrou ek is baie lief vir haar’.”
Austin’s girlfriend is currently eight months pregnant and Elizabeth says he was looking forward to becoming a father.
“He was so excited. He worked at City Logistics for nearly a year and bought everything for the baby already. He was just waiting for the baby to be born now,” Elizabeth adds.
HART SE PUNT: Heartbroken mom Elizabeth September
His father, Ralph September, 46, says he cannot figure out the motive for his son’s death.
“I was at the scene. He was lying in the yard of his ‘second mom’, his best friend’s mother whom he took as his own,” he says.
“We really don’t know what the real story is so we’re waiting on police. I know it was not robbery as Austin’s uncle removed his silver earrings, bracelet and chain and he still had on his Nike takkies after he was killed.”
Police spokesperson FC van Wyk confirmed the shooting.
“He was shot in the face and neck. It’s alleged the victim attended a party when a few males came to look for him and a friend at the party and fired shots at the victim,” he says.
“The motive of the shooting is unknown. No arrest has been made at this stage. A murder case is under investigation.”
robin.francke@inl.co.za