A heartbroken mom says she lost her best friend after her youngest son was murdered in Steenberg.
Reagan Joseph, 14, was gunned down on Wednesday evening as he was walking home from the shop at the corner of Beethoven Street and Joe Marks Boulevard.
The time was around 9pm when mom Annie Pienaar received the dreaded call.
The hartseer ma says: “We drove to the scene and when we arrived I went to him and held his hand and kissed it.
“I then felt the pulse and said to my daughter who had his head in her hands that she could let go because he was dead.
“My youngest child died a brutal death, he was shot twice in the head, once in his behind and back, and then several times in the stomach.”
Annie says at the scene the people whispered that Reagan wasn’t the intended target.
She adds: “He was walking with a family friend who is 28 years old. And when they were returning from the shop, the suspects who I believe are from Lavender Hill, just opened fire at them.
“The other guy managed to escape but unfortunately Reagan couldn’t.
“People said the shooters were not there for him but the family friend, that is confusing because he is also not a gangster.”
Annie said she was very close to her son. revealing: “He was my baby, he loved me very much and we were very tight. He was my best friend and I am going to miss everything about him. I am distraught, but I have to be strong for my other children.
“He was a funny boy.
“I did however notice that he was now a grown teenager.”
Police spokesperson Sergeant Wesley Twigg confirmed the shooting and said no one was arrested, saying: “Steenberg police registered a murder case for investigation following a shooting incident on Wednesday evening at about 9.55pm in Joe Marks Boulevard in which a 14-year-old boy was shot and fatally wounded.
“The victim was declared deceased on the scene by paramedics. The motive for the attack forms part of the police investigation. The unknown suspects who fled the scene are yet to be arrested.”.