ZAMDELA – A night out turned into a scene of horror when a woman was allegedly gunned down by her ex-boyfriend at a popular hangout behind the Zamdela Police Station.

The victim, 38-year-old Matseleng Lydia Motsoane, was allegedly shot dead in front of terrified patrons on August 1.

Police say members of the Welkom Anti-Gang Unit were approached at about 20:00 by a man who reported that his sister had allegedly been shot by her former boyfriend.

Officers rushed to the scene and found Motsoane lying in a pool of blood, and she was declared dead by Emergency Medical Services at the scene.

Police spokesperson Sergeant Josephine Rani said officers were directed to a 50-year-old suspect, who was found lying on the ground with head injuries.

“It is alleged that he had been assaulted by members of the community after allegedly shooting the deceased,” Rani said.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect allegedly confronted the deceased’s brother at a local chicken dust outlet, accusing him of introducing his former girlfriend to other men.

“The suspect allegedly called the deceased and her brother outside, where he opened fire on them. Both victims initially managed to flee back into the restaurant. The suspect allegedly followed them inside and fatally shot the deceased. The deceased’s brother escaped unharmed,” said Rani.

The suspect was arrested and is facing charges of murder, attempted murder and possession of an unlicensed firearm.

He is expected to appear in the Sasolburg Magistrate’s Court soon.

Following the news, the popular shisa nyama issued a statement on Thursday distancing itself from the incident.

“It has come to our attention that there are some rumours making rounds that there was a shooting incident at our outlet on August 1. We would like to make it clear that the shooting incident that happened took place at a chicken dust/car wash behind Kwa-Nduna Shisanyama. Not at Kwa-Nduna Shisanyama,” read the post on Facebook.