A 20-year-old woman, who cannot be named for safety reasons, is recovering in hospital after she was shot by her boyfriend who is still at large.

Her family got the shock of their life when they received a call telling them to go to the hospital as their daughter had been shot.

The family have thus far only been told that her boyfriend shot her by mistake.

The woman’s brother, who asked not to be named, said: “Luckily, the bullet didn’t go in too deep. This incident has left us devastated. We are grateful to God that she survived,” he said.

“When we got to the hospital, there was no sign of her boyfriend, who took her to the hospital after shooting her. We didn’t even know they were dating…We want justice for what happened to my sister.”

He said it worries them that the suspect has not been caught.

Department of Social Development spokesperson Mhlabunzima Memela said there is no such thing as a mistake or accident when using a firearm.

“You can’t just play with a firearm while [in the company of] people and claim that it was a mistake. You can’t just draw a firearm just for fun when among people. The suspect must be able to answer to the police…If his firearm was licensed, [the suspect] would have handed himself to the police. We would like the police to find the suspect [and establish what happened].”

Police spokesperson Sergeant Sifiso Gwala said an attempted murder case has been opened for investigation.

“The motive for the shooting is still unknown. The police are still tracing the whereabouts of the suspect.”