'Revenge' killing rocks Atlantis
Wallentino Williams Wallentino Williams
The hartseer mother of Wallentino Williams, 17, says a gangster fired three shots at the teen to get back at another relative who is a member of a rival gang.
Mom Geneen says Wallentino was standing outside his home when a man walked up to him and shot him in the head and neck.
“I was in the bathroom and I heard three shots. It sounded so close so I ran out and I saw he was shot,” she says.
“I was at the morgue and at the funeral home and it is like it is not real. I am still waiting to see a message from him on my phone. He was a youth member and not a gangster and enjoyed going to church and doing athletics.”
Police spokesperson, Captain FC van Wyk, confirms the incident and says the shooting occurred in Malgas Street.
He says a murder case has been opened and police are investigating the circumstances around the incident.
Wallentino was a Grade 10 pupil at Proteus Technical School where he was studying business management. He was also a member of the Velocity Athletics Club and was known as a star athlete in the 100m and 200m sprints and relay.
Coach Tashwell Adams arrived on the scene shortly after Wallentino died and says it was heartbreaking to see his body lying in the street.
“He was a well-known sprinter and an innocent young man. We work so hard to help uplift these children and to stand there and look at his body is a difficult pill to swallow," says Adams.
Geneen adds: “The funeral will only be next Saturday because the body is with forensics and we won’t have it in time. They told us that nobody has been arrested.”