“We knew he would die one day because of the road he took, but we didn’t think it was going to happen so fast.”
These are the words of a devastated relative of 18-year-old Dominic Greef, whose body was discovered inside a hokkie near a canal in Manenberg on Wednesday morning, leaving his family hartseer and searching for answers.
Greef was found with a gunshot wound in his chest in the plakkerskamp between Duinefontein Road and Silverstream.
According to the family member, he had left his family home two and a half years ago and they never learned where he had been living.
The grieving relative, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “The last time I saw him was four or five months ago for his court date where he apparently robbed someone and appeared in Athlone Magistrate’s Court.
“When he came out he didn’t want to come back home and went his own way.
“He did get involved with gangsterism and ended up doing drugs as well. I think it happened before he moved out, but he didn’t want to tell us.
“We knew he would die one day because of the road he took, but we didn’t think it was going to happen so fast.
“It seems so unreal, I’m just sitting here with my own thoughts, I’m just numb.”
The family member added that Greef was a friendly people’s person and were surprised when they saw klompie mense at the scene as it showed how much people cared for him.
Police spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk said: “Circumstances surrounding a shooting incident early this morning at 6.05am between Duinefontein Road and Silverstream [canal in one of the shacks], Manenberg, in which a 18-year-old male was shot and fatally wounded are under investigation.
“He sustained a gunshot wound to the chest. The victim was declared deceased on the scene by medical personnel. The motive for the attack forms part of the police investigation.”
He added that Manenberg police opened a murder case for investigation.
Manenberg is gripped by a gang war, with the body of a shooting victim discovered alongside the canal last week and a man shot dead in front of the police station on Tuesday.
A neighbourhood watch member told the Daily Voice that the shootings in the area have been quite bad as they keep hearing pockets of skote klap.
The resident said: “We are keeping our children inside as well, which is quite a concern for us, because we have to tell them to come in because we don’t know whether the funeral of an alleged Fancy Boy who was shot on Tuesday would happen or not.”
Anyone with any information about this shooting incident can contact Crime Stop on 08600 10111 or use the mobile application MySAPS anonymously.