A young mom from Wesbank who was preparing to celebrate New Year’s Eve with her friends is lucky to be alive after being shot in the neck.
On Sunday night, Leandra Plaatjies, 22, heard gunshots outside and went to investigate.
Her heartbroken mom Set Plaatjies explains: “There was a stone-throwing and shooting incident happening not far from us, and she went to check with two of her friends.
“I was standing by the gate when they went out.
“Minutes later, the friends came back and when I asked where she was, they went back to look for her because they last saw her when she fell to the ground.
“I had a suspicion that she was shot. The friends said she had been shot. She was lying there on the ground. A stray bullet hit her, no one knows who shot her.”
The devastated mom says she felt Leandra’s pulse and feared the worst, but was relieved when she found that her daughter was still alive.
Set adds: “There was a lot of blood. She was lying there for about two hours. It got frustrating when the ambulance took too long. People offered to take her to the hospital, but I chose to wait.
“The doctors told us they are waiting for the swelling to be reduced before they can take the bullet out of her neck.”
Set said the young mom has a three-year-old son who has been asking for her.
She says: “This is really devastating because she was curious about what happened and that got her shot. In this area, when there is a shooting, people go out and look.”
Mfuleni police responded to a complaint on Sunday, 31 December, 2023. Upon their arrival at around 10.15pm, the victims were transported to a nearby hospital for medical treatment.
The suspects are yet to be arrested and police are investigating two counts of attempted murder.