"I heard the gunshots and wanted to warn my sister and her friends but I was too late." These were the words of Nosipho Gcwabe (22) who lost her sister Zikhona Gcwabe (31) during a mass shooting in Finetown. Nosipho told Zimoja that Zikhona and her four friends were chilling outside their home gate inside a friend's a car.   "They asked me to join them and I kept telling them I would come but I eventually I decided to just sit in the house. It was around 9pm when I heard several gunshots but at that time they sounded far."

BRUTAL KILLING

She said as the gunshots got closer she wanted to step outside and warn those sitting in the car.
"I first peeped through the window to see if the car was still there, at that time I saw three men already surrounding the car and I closed the curtain because I didn't want to be spotted." Nosipho said she heard three gunshots before the suspects moved on to shoot their neighbour on the leg, who wanted to see what was going on." Zikhona and her friend Soso died and the other three survived because they managed to escape. We tried to rush them to the hospital but the doctor told us they probably died on their way there. I'm really shocked by this and don't think I'll get over it."

SIBLINGS KILLED

Mmakopano Kose, the sister in law of Thabang (22)and Pinki Kose (41) who both died during the shooting, said she was at her home in Orange Farm when she got a call about the shooting.
" I did not think they were dead, I thought we were going to take them to hospital and they'd be fine. But we found them lying lifeless. We were told that those guys tried to rob Thabang but his friends were there to help him. This wasn't the first time they tried to rob him,"she said.
Mmakopano explained that after Thabang and his friends threw stones at the suspects and their car, they drove off.
" They parked their car around the corner and came walking, then started by shooting Thabang. When Pinky heard the gunshots she went out and saw his brother on the ground. She asked them why they were killing her brother and told the suspects to shoot her too because she no longer had a reason to live and they did that. These kids were bread winners and took care of four children. As I am talking to you I might be next in line because the suspects are said to be roaming around."

DYING ALONG HIS BEST FRIEND

Sanele Makhoba (22) who also died alongside his best friend Thabang. His uncle Joshua Nkosi said, "I was at a tavern nearby when the incident happened. We were all afraid to go out as it was dark but as soon as the gunshots stopped I went to find out what was going on. I found my brother's son lying lifeless and his cellphone stolen. We live like animals here and we are controlled by trigger happy young men."