An 8-year-old girl has been left with a bullet stuck in her back following a shooting in Hanover Park.
Aarifah Ward, 8, from Algoa Court is receiving treatment in hospital after the bullet got lodged in her spine.
Mom Mawahda Claasen says the incident took place around 6pm on Saturday, when an unknown man started shooting across a field in Surburg Walk at jongens standing at a shop.
Mawahda says: “She was with her friends playing on the field when I heard about seven gunshots and someone came to call me saying my child has been shot.”
“Two guys carried her and when I got to her, she kept saying, ‘Mommy my back is burning’ and that was when I knew she was shot.”
The Grade 2 learner from Summit Primary School was rushed to hospital in a car. On Monday, she was transferred from the Intensive Care Unit to the Recovery Ward.
Mawahda adds: “Doctors said they are not going to remove the bullet otherwise she is going to be paralysed and it didn’t cause any damage, it’s just stuck in her spine.”
“She is strong and that is making me strong. My 18-year-old son was also shot two months ago.
“Shooting is a norm in Hanover Park until it happens to your child, then you realise it is not normal.”
Police spokesperson Anelisiwe Manyana says the incident is under investigation with no arrests yet.
Uncle Marawaan Petersen urges anyone with information to contact SAPS anonymously so the shooter can be caught and brought to book. Anyone with information regarding this incident is kindly requested to contact Crime Stop on 08600 10111.