It was a weekend of tears for the family of a Mitchells Plain teen who was mercilessly killed in a shooting just a day before his matric results were released.
While families across the Cape Flats celebrated the achievements of their Grade 12 learners, the hartseer family of Wakeel Dreyer, 18, sukkeled to come to grips with the senseless shooting which led to his death.
Trane of disbelief flowed in Palestrina Street on Thursday as a large crowd gathered around the body of the friendly kid, who had been working on his dream to become an architect.
Aunt Leonie Arendse, 42, said she was at home when she heard shots but was not sure what had happened until a woman came to her home screaming wild.
“I was inside and I thought I heard shots but I wasn’t sure if the neighbour was perhaps kapping something,” she explains.
“Then I heard more and realised there must be a shooting. A woman came here screaming: ‘Onnie! Onnie! Kom gou, hulle het vir Worsie geskiet’.
“And that is when I ran to the shop. I could not believe what I was seeing.
“He was shot in the chest and head and his eyes and mouth were open. He had already died and I am still struggling to come to grips with what happened.”
Police spokesperson Joseph Swartbooi confirmed the tragic shooting.
He said Mitchells Plain cops were called to the scene shortly after 4pm.
“They found the body of an 18-year-old male who sustained multiple gunshot wounds to his body. The victim was declared deceased on the scene by the medical personnel.
“The unknown suspects fled the scene and are yet to be arrested. The motive for the attack is yet to be determined. Mitchells Plain police are investigating a murder,” Swartbooi explained.
Wakeel’s heartbroken aunt said that the very next day, the family attended the valedictory at Beacon Hill High where they were given his matric results.
“It was very hartseer. I cannot even tell you how it felt to get his results and see that he passed. People talk their own stories about distinctions but that is not true.
“He passed OK but it was not a Bachelor’s Pass. He had applied to Stellenbosch [University] and his plan was to study architecture. He was always good with drawings and told me that is what he wanted to do,” Leonie added.
While the circumstances around the shooting are under investigation, the aunt said that the family has been left confused.
“To take his life like that and he was not even a gangster. Wakeel was the type of child that you would never know if he was sad or hartseer because he always smiled and he really was a very special child. I miss him so much.”
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