A young mom from Manenberg died while waiting nearly TWO hours for an ambulance - after being hit in the head during a gang shooting on Wednesday night.
The hartseer family of Celeste Abdol, 33, say government has let them down and neighbours eventually had to rush her to hospital in a critical condition.
Two men have been arrested for her murder.
Her boyfriend, Trevor Booysen, 50, says he was at work when he received a call from his brother saying the mom of two had been shot twice in the head while walking home in Venster Street.
The couple has two sons, Joshua, two, and Ezra, five.
Manenberg SAPS commander Brigadier Enolium Joseph says a white Toyota Quantum was seen driving down the road and the occupants opened fire on people in the street, hitting Celeste and two other men, aged 31 and 20.
Residents believe the gunmen were targeting a house owned by the Fancy Boys.
Trevor says he rushed home when he heard the news and got a skrik when he found Celeste still lying in the road bleeding.
“I drive taxi and she works as a tea lady at Sanlam in Bellville. When I got here, she was still fighting to stay alive, she was very strong,” the distraught man says.
SCENE: Victim comforted after shooting
“But we waited for almost two hours and the ambulance still did not come and then the people took her to hospital and she died.
“The government has failed us. Why did they not come and help her?
“The fire and rescue people came and stabilised her, but said they could not move her because of protocol.
“We have been together for five years and she is my life.”
Joseph says the suspects fled the scene in the taxi, allegedly driven by a woman wearing a scarf and they drove towards Klipfontein Road.
Officers of the Serious Violent Crimes Unit found the taxi in Dorothy Court.
“They arrested two men, aged 19 and 29, but no firearms were recovered. They have been charged with murder and the detectives have indicated that more arrests will follow,” Joseph says.
FAILED: Manenberg residents rushed Celeste to the hospital while waiting in vain for medics
EMS spokesperson, Robert Daniels, confirms they received a call at 6.26pm but a vehicle only became available at 7.33pm.
“The crew arrived on scene at 7.48pm. [The] reason for the delay was a lack of SAPS escorts in the area which is identified by all emergency services as a red zone. No patients were treated on scene as the female in question was removed from the scene with private transport.”
But a police officer on the scene says this is not true.
“They are talking s***. The escort waited for them and they never arrived.
“The Fire and Rescue [Services] vehicle responded and they were given an escort, so how can they say there was no escort?”
monique.duval@inl.co.za