A mother is seeking justice after her 13-year-old son died after he was allegedly shot in the eye by cops.
Devano van Wyk was on his way to the shop to buy snacks to watch a movie with his mother around 7.30pm on Saturday.
He was walking from Orchard Place Court in Elsies River to Betty Street where he was shot and injured.
His hartseer mom Olivia van Wyk says: “I was standing by the window looking for my son when I was told to go to the shooting scene.
“I thought it was my son’s godmother who was killed, but when I got there I saw that it was my son lying in the street.
“He was put in a police vehicle with me and then we went to the hospital where the police told him to walk even though he was in and out of consciousness.
“The doctor told me he had to get a scan to see the damage and he was still swollen and he was put on a ventilator. His heartbeat was fine.”
But on Monday she received a call to say she must come to the hospital immediately.
The hartseer mom says: “When we got there, he had a tube in his head because his brain was bleeding.
“They couldn't do anything but drain it out, they said they would give him two hours but his heart stopped.
“His one eye was gone and the other was closed. But when the machine stopped he looked at me straight in the eye, all I could tell him was that I loved him.”
The Elsies River community raged when they heard that Devano had died, demanding justice for the Balvenie Primary School learner.
The angry mense who blamed the police for his death closed off several roads including Avonwoood Avenue.
Cops intervened by shooting rubber bullets to disperse the crowd.
Olivia says hours before her son’s shooting, the police had tried to arrest someone in the area.
The mom adds: “The police had been drinking the whole day and falling around here, with people laughing at them, and when they arrested the man, people were angry and tried to stop them.
“I support what the residents did [on Monday], I also want justice for my son.”
Elsies River Community police forum spokesperson Imrahn Mukaddam says they will looking into the matter and hopes to involve Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID).
He adds: “If there was misconduct, we will have to take it up with the station commander. We also need to involve IPID. We are not confirming that the police did this, as they [cops] said they were attacked.
“The area has been volatile for the past two weeks.”
Police spokesperson Sergeant Wesley Twigg confirmed Devano’s murder is now being investigated by IPID, who did not reply to queries.