Cape Town – A young mother from Leonsdale has died after being hit by a stray gang bullet inside her home on Tuesday.
Her death comes just a week after the life of her three-year-old son was saved by a brave teen, also during a shooting.
The heartbroken mother of Lucracia Williams, 34, says the last words she uttered was “ Ma, ek is geskiet(Mom, I've been shot)” before she collapsed in her mother’s Leo Mews Flat.
Mom Daphne, 58, says she was at home with Lucracia and they were watching TV when gunshots rang out.
“The shots sounded very nearby but at the time I didn’t know it was coming through the door,” she says.
Lucracia Williams was shot dead in Leo Mews, Leonsdale. Picture: Solly Lottering
“I went on my knees on the floor and covered my head with my hands and when the shooting stopped, I looked up and I saw my daughter fall.
“She just said, ‘ Ma ek is geskiet’. Then she collapsed.”
Daphne says Lucracia was struck in the chest and the bullet did not exit her body.
Neighbours rushed the single mom of two to Elsies River Day Hospital, where she was declared dead on arrival.
Lucracia Williams Picture: Supplied
Police spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk confirmed the shooting and says Elsies River SAPS have now opened a murder investigation, with no arrests as yet.
On Youth Day, Lucracia’s three-year-old son, Zhivago - who is known as Bongani - was saved by Brandino Barron, 16, who was shot and killed in the same building.
Residents say after being shot by heartless gangsters, the brave teen rushed to shield Zhivago from the bullets.
Brandino was shot twice in the abdomen and once in the arm and was declared dead at the hospital. Daphne says Lucracia was very grateful for Brandino’s bravery.
“She could not stop crying when he died,” says the grandmother.
“She was very heartsore because Brandino protected Bongani and on Friday Lucracia was going to be a pallbearer at Brandino’s funeral. I will now raise Bongani and her 11-year-old daughter.”
Ward councillor Franchesca Walker says the community has been rocked by the murder of yet another innocent person in Leo Mews.
“On the morning of the shooting, we had a contractor on the site to repair the fencing to prevent gangsters from entering the block at the back.
"I have also reached out to the City departments to get funding to repair a wall which residents say is used by gangsters as a thoroughfare. We are very saddened by the death of this young mother.”