A beloved oupa from Hanover Park will be laid to rest next week after he was gunned down in a drive-by shooting on Sunday while sitting in a car with his friends.
The heartbroken family of Bertram Steer, 52, say they are still in shock after he was shot multiple times while sitting in his friend’s white Toyota Tazz along Hanover Park Avenue shortly before 9pm.
Wife Veronica, 55, says she got a skrik when she heard the shots and a neighbour came running to her a few minutes later.
“I heard the shooting and heard people shouting and screaming. I sent one of my children and they said one of Berty’s friends was shot.
“As I went out I saw one of the neighbours shouting there is his wife. Another neighbour came out and told me my husband was shot.”
Veronica says two of Berty's friends were injured and residents drove the Tazz with all the men inside to the Heideveld Emergency Centre, where Berty was declared dead on arrival.
A young girl playing in the yard of her home was struck in the leg.
The Daily Voice approached the mother, but she declined to comment saying the child was undergoing surgery.
On Monday night hundreds of Hanover Residents gathered outside Uncle Berty’s home where they lit candles and held a vigil.
“He was unemployed, but worked all the years as a draftsman. He grew up in Hanover Park and has four children and four grandchildren,” says Veronica.
“What happened to him is so unfair he was an innocent man.”
Philippi Police have not responded to enquiries about Uncle Berty’s murder or the shooting.