‘October 11 Massacre’ hit-man in court
The man responsible for an orgy of violence that left 15 dead and many injured has appeared in court
The hit-man believed by police to be responsible for the ‘October 11 Massacre’, which left 15 dead in two separate shooting incidents, appeared in court in Ezakheni today (Monday, November 17). The hit-man was arrested by the Hawks.
We will update this story as soon as we have more information.
October 11 Massacre
The horrifying shootings and tragic accident on the Colenso/Pieters road sent shock waves through Ladysmith. More so as police believe the initial shooting was a case of mistaken identity. The shootings took place on Saturday, October 11.
A group of heavily-armed men chased a GP-registered Mercedes down; the gunmen believed they were following another Mercedes. They opened fire without warning, intending to kill everyone in the vehicle. The occupants of the Mercedes were, however, all women returning from a wedding and not the intended targets.
The women had been to a wedding in Ezakheni and being from Gauteng, they were trying to find their way out of the sprawling township when the gunmen pulled up behind them and opened fire.
One woman was killed instantly and another is believed to have died in hospital.
A taxi, heading into the township from Ladysmith, tried to avoid the unfolding carnage and collided with an oncoming truck.
With death and destruction everywhere, and people screaming in agony, the callous gunmen brought their vehicle to a halt and approached the Mercedes, obviously intent on finishing the job.
At this stage, they realised they had shot at the wrong vehicle, as they jumped back into their vehicle without firing another shot. They sped away towards Ezakheni, leaving behind the terrified victims, the dead (including a 3-year-old baby), the trapped and the dying.
According to emergency services, four taxi passengers died at the scene and five more died in hospital.
Around 30 minutes later, five men were shot dead at a car wash in Ezakheni.
Six men were in a white Isuzu bakkie, parked outside the car wash, when the brutal killers opened fire. Five of the six were killed in a hail of bullets. One man was injured, but managed to escape.
