A seven-year-old meisie from Parkwood has been left paralysed after being struck by a gang bullet while sitting on a bench at her home.
The hartseer mother of little Nasiegha Williams says she has been left traumatised by the shooting over the Easter weekend which saw the scared girl hide under a car as shots rang out near her home.
Mom Nadeema, 31, says the incident on Thursday afternoon in Moosa Walk left the Grade 2 pupil from Parkwood Primary School with permanent injuries and she will now undergo an operation to remove one of her damaged kidneys.
“It was just after 5pm and Nasiegha and her niggies were in the yard. She was sitting on the bench and I heard the shots go off,” explains the mother.
“All we know is that they came down the road and just started shooting in the road.
“All the children ran and I found her under the car but I had no idea she was shot.
“When I lifted her up to get her inside the house that is when I saw all the blood.”
Her frantic family rushed with Nasiegha to Victoria Hospital where they were informed that she had been struck twice by bullets.
“They moved her to Red Cross Hospital where you could see that her legs had become verlam.
“The doctors told us she was shot twice.
“The one bullet is in her kidney and they will remove it on Tuesday morning and the other in her spine which has now caused her to be paralysed from the knees down.”
Nadeema says her daughter is aware of her condition and told her mother that she wants justice for what has been done to her.
“Sy is bewus, and was in a lot of pain.
“Her father and I are swapping out at the hospital to take care of her. We are very hartseer that she is paralysed.
“She is a clever girl and she loves school and she is hartseer that this has happened to her but she told me she wants justice for what has happened to her.
“We called the police but they did not come.”
Grassy Park police spokesperson captain Wynita Kleinsmith confirms the shooting and says on arrival in Moosa Walk the officers were informed the girl had been taken to hospital, but says cops immediately started following up on tip-offs to catch the shooter, who has since been arrested.
“The victim was rushed to hospital and the officers were given names by the community.
“They set out to gather more information and trace the shooter.
“On Saturday night they gave all the information to the Anti-Gang Unit who successfully arrested the suspect and brought him into the station.
“The suspect is a 27-year-old member of the Mongrels gang and he will appear in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday on a charge of attempted murder.”