“SALAAM ouma.”
These were the last words spoken by a two-year-old boy before a stray gang bullet ripped through his head in Hanover Park on Friday.
Hartseer residents say Muees Calvin fought for his life as neighbours rushed him to Heideveld Emergency Centre.
Ouma Zaytoon Mohammed, 60, says the gunshots were followed by loud screams from his mother, Nazreen, 33, who grabbed the little boy to shield him, not knowing he had already been hit.
She explains: “They come here every night for supper. They live in Lansry Walk and I look after Nazreen’s four children.
“Muees came here with his mommy on Friday and the first thing he said when he came in was: ‘Laikum ouma, where is my ball?’
HARTSEER: Zaytoon Mohammed, 60 . Photo: Leon Knipe/ANA
“I told him the ball was pap and I would glue it for him and then I gave them chicken akhni. I played with him and just before 9pm, they left the house.
“He came to me and said shukran for the food and he hugged me and said ‘Salaam ouma’. That is the last thing he said.”
His older brother, Taariq Williams, 13, put him on his shoulders.
Then four gunmen, alleged members of the Americans gang, entered Solent Court and tried to shoot a member of the Ghetto Kidz gang, but missed.
Nazreen says: “When I heard the shots, I grabbed Muees from Taariq and we wanted to duck, but I didn’t know he was already hit.”
Neighbour Lee-Roy Cilliers, 44, says he was in bed when he heard the gunshots.
‘WAS A FIGHTER’ : Lee-Roy Cilliers, 44. Photo:Leon Knipe/ANA
“When I looked out of my window, I just saw the baby lying here. My wife ran down and she picked the baby up,” he recalls.
“I immediately just took my keys and I reversed my bakkie and we drove as fast as we could to Heideveld.
“He was shot through the head from the back and it came out through the front. He was awake in the bakkie and he was a fighter, he stayed alive for 20 minutes as we stood there [at the hospital].
“Then his heart just stopped and he died in front of me.”
SCENE: Solent Court where the little boy was killed by a stray bullet. Photo: Leon Knipe/ANA
Police spokesperson, Lieutenant-Colonel Andrè Traut, says the circumstances around the shooting are being investigated.
“The child was with his mother at the time of the incident. She was not injured. The suspects are yet to be arrested,” he says.
Yesterday neighbours and neighbourhood watch patrollers filled ouma Zaytoon’s home.
The family hope to hold Muees’s janaazah today, but they do not have the funds to bury him.
Anyone who would like to assist can call Shireen on 072 199 4213.