Sarepta residents woke up to a horrific sight of three bodies floating in a canal Thursday morning.
At around 4.30am, gunshots were heard and then an hour later, a man crossing the bridge saw the victims who had been killed.
Shaken Kuils River community members watched as the police retrieved the bodies, saying they didn’t recognise the victims.
A resident who was first on the scene, Bertus Samson, 53, says he was crossing the bridge when he saw bodies of a female and a male.
“It was about 5:30am when I was walking near the scene, there were two men walking in front of me. I was a few metres away from the canal, the street lamp was off on the other side of the bridge.
“As I got on the bridge, the light went on and when I looked in the water, I saw the body of a woman floating.”
The shocked man says he got a huge skrik: “I only saw two of the bodies and got scared and screamed at the guys and told them about what I had just seen.
“They came back because they had already crossed to the other side of the bridge. They went to knock at houses so the people could call the police.”
He tells the Daily Voice that the police responded quickly.
“The police arrived and they got the three bodies out. I was surprised that they were three bodies when the police took them out. I think the women were piled together because the woman I saw was quite high in the water.”
Police spokeswoman Brigadier Novela Potelwa says crime scene experts combed the area for clues.
“Reports from the scene indicated that police were called out at around 6pm after passers-by spotted the bodies of two women and a man with gunshot wounds in the water.
“Several spent cartridges were discovered in the vicinity. Police divers responded and retrieved the bodies from the water.
“Police have instituted the 72-hour Activation Plan for the mobilisation of resources in search of the suspects and determining the motive for the murders.
“At this point of the investigation, the identities of the deceased persons remain unknown.”
The police ask anyone with information that could assist them with the investigation to contact 08600 10111 or convey information via MYSAPSAPP.
Potwela says the information received will be handled in strict confidence.
mandilakhe.tshwete@inl.co.za