Chaotic scenes in Braamfontein as two men are fatally shot, another hit by a stray bullet and one is rushed to hospital.
The corner of Jorissen and Bertha streets became a crime scene on February 29, 2024, as an alleged ‘hit’ took place on the busy intersection filled with students and other passersby.
Two men were allegedly targeted while stray bullets hit two University of Johannesburg (UJ) students, one died on the scene and the other was rushed to the hospital for treatment. The students were on a bus believed to be travelling from UJ to Nukerk Student Accommodation in Hillbrow.
The two dead men, believed to be taxi owners, are moved from the BMW they were sitting in when shot at. Photo: Sfundo Parakozov
SAPS crime scene manager, Captain Vincent Saunders said: “What we know is two people were shot, these two people are taxi owners. The bus was passing by with students who accidentally got shot as the bullets crossed.” In videos shared on social media, students can be heard screaming and crying moments after the two students were hit.
Dear UJ students.
UJ saddened by the death of its student in a shooting incident
It is with profound sadness that the University of Johannesburg (UJ) has learnt of the death of its student, who was caught in crossfire during a shooting incident in Braamfontein this afternoon…
Speaking to Wits Vuvuzela shortly after the incident UJ spokesperson, Herman Esterhuizen said “at this stage everything is quite chaotic,” as the university gathered more information.
In a short statement issued on Thursday evening, the university confirmed the tragic death of an “18-year-old male, [who] was a second-year student,” and the recovery of another. Students who were on the bus have been encouraged to seek out counselling services offered internally.
Eyewitnesses say they heard five gunshots in quick succession before assailants ran off and jumped into a getaway car. By the time Wits Vuvuzela got to the scene, the intersection was being cordoned off and and the three lifeless bodies had been covered with repatriation foil.
Family members of one of the deceased did not want to comment but said answers on what may have happened could be found if Wits Vuvuzela contacted Faraday Taxi Association. Calls to the association went unanswered.
FEATURED IMAGE: The body of one of the students caught in the crossfire is carried into a forensic pathology van. The student is yet to be identified. Photo: Sfundo Parakozov
Fear, terror and the sound of gunshots lingered at Garissa University on 2 April. Some students managed to escape the horrific attack while 147 others lost their lives.
Garissa University students on 2 April. Photo: Twitter (@DennisOkari)
A daring run after he heard piercing gunshots are what saved Erick Okuon’s life when gunmen attacked Garissa University in Kenya at dawn last week.
Many of his friends were not so lucky when masked al-Shabaab fighters stormed the university and called on students in two dormitories to come out of their bedrooms and lie on the ground, face-down, before being executed. At least 147 university students and staff were killed on the day.
Okuon and other students managed to escape the attack by jumping out of nearby windows and hiding quietly in the bush as the sound of gunshots and crying flew over their heads.
His cousin Francis Otieno, a Wits postgraduate, recounted Okuon’s story of survival and spoke of the emotional turbulence that took place on the day of the attack.
“I got the news early at 6am that morning. The first thing I thought was to call home and try to get hold of my cousin. I couldn’t get hold of him so we tried calling other people to reach out to him,” Otieno said.
“From morning to evening we had to wait and his phone was off, it was a very painful wait.”
He and other relatives had to wait along with the rest of the world to find out whether or not Okuon and other students had survived in the remote region of Kenya.
“The attack took part in the north eastern region and it’s a struggle to get someone out there so we had to wait on information from the Red Cross and the government,” Otieno said.
Otieno said most of the students at Garissa are poor. The students come from all over Kenya but attend the remote university because it is less expensive than schools in major cities.
“Most students are government sponsored and are from humble backgrounds,” explained Otieno.
Six days later, the pain of the attack still lingers in Garissa with students still fearful and going through trauma counselling.
“There is quite a lot of fear over there at the moment. This attack was on the poor, the people in the region of Garissa has large numbers of poor people. This attack just proves that nobody is spared,” Otieno said.
According to Otieno, his cousin is among those still going for trauma counselling. “He couldn’t celebrate having survived the attack. There’s no celebration, just a lot of anger.”
The April 2 attack on the university took place about 200km from the Somali border. At least 147 people were killed and 79 injured. The day was a chilling reminder of the 2013 attack in Kenya when al-Shabaab raided Nairobi’s Westgate shopping mall, killing 67 people during a four-hour siege.
In this episode, “In South Africa our Land”, hosts Sechaba Molete and Lindelwa Khanyile are joined by Mihle Kunju, Law School Council Chairperson, for a conversation about the constitutional promise that “all shall be equal under the law.” While South Africa’s Constitution is celebrated as one of the most progressive in the world, the reality […]
