A Delft teenager has died after being shot in a suspected case of mistaken identity during load shedding.
The heartbroken mother of Ethan Appollis, 15, says she could not believe her eyes when she saw her son’s body hunched behind a car after he had tried to escape his attackers on Monday night.
Mom Stephanie, 38, said her son only wanted to buy a packet of chips, but instead ended up with five bullets in his body as he tried to flee the shooters.
“I was at home in my bed and God must have closed my ears because I didn’t hear any of the shots,” she explained.
“He went to the shop to buy a packet of chips and the neighbours came to call me. They all said they heard seven shots go off.
“I was told that it happened at 8.20pm, just as the load shedding started.
“We believe they were looking for someone else and mistook him for that person in the darkness. It appears they chased after him and shot him.
“He was found behind the car as he tried to escape and they shot him five times in the head, two of his fingers and in his chest.”
Police spokesperson Wesley Twigg has confirmed the shooting: “The circumstances surrounding a shooting incident on Monday at about 8.20pm in Umfuli Road, where a 15-year-old boy was shot and fatally wounded, are under investigation.
“According to reports, Delft police attended the crime scene where they found the victim with a gunshot wound to his head.
“The victim was declared deceased on the scene by medical personnel.
“The motive for the attack is yet to be established. A murder was registered for investigation”.
Stephanie said the shooting has angered the hele community.
“The people are very kwaad because we all know he is not a gangster. He smokes dagga but that is all that he does,” she added.
“It was supposed to be his 16th birthday next month and he was excited to go and work.
“He left school because he was struggling and was being bullied.
“Ethan was my hart se punt, and there is not a day that he did not help me as a mom. I am very upset that they shot him, knowing he is not a gangster.”
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