Cape Town - A mother is seeking justice after her 13-year-old son, Devano van Wyk, tragically died from a gunshot wound to the eye, allegedly inflicted by police.
On Saturday evening, Devano had been watching a movie with his mother when he left to buy snacks. In a heart-wrenching turn of events, his mother, Olivia van Wyk, received the devastating news that her son had been shot.
“I was standing by the window looking for my son and I thought, when I was told to go to the shooting scene, I thought it was my son’s godmother who was killed, but when I got there, I saw that it was my son laying on the street. He was then put in a police vehicle with me and then we went to the hospital where the police told him to walk even though he was in and out of consciousness,” said van Wyk.
She was told by the doctor that Devano had to go through a scan to see the damage to his head.
He was also put on a ventilator. “His heartbeat was fine. On Monday, while we were at home, we received a call to say we must be there and when we got there, he had a tube in his head because his brain was bleeding. They couldn’t do anything but drain it. They said they would give him two hours but his heart stopped.
“His one eye was gone and the other was closed but when the machine stopped he looked me, all I could tell him was that I love him.”
The Elsies River community took to the streets on Monday, demanding justice for the Balvenie Primary School learner, and blamed the police for his death. They closed off roads including Avonwoood Avenue.
The police intervened and used rubber bullets to disperse the crowd.
Van Wyk said hours before the shooting, the police had tried to arrest someone. “The police had been drinking all day and falling here with people, laughing at them and when they arrested the man, people were angry and tried to stop them, before shooting my son. I support what the residents did, I also want justice for my son.”
Elsies River Community Policing Forum (CPF) spokesperson, Imrhaan Mukaddam, said they would check whether police acted out of conduct.
“If there was misconduct, we will have to take it up with the station commander. We also need to involve the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid).
“We are not confirming that the police did this as they did say that they were attacked. The area has been volatile for the past two weeks.
“We are also concerned with the sensationalism surrounding this incident without facts. We want to appeal for calm, we will leave no stone unturned,” said Mukaddam.
Police spokesperson, Wesley Twigg, said: “The matter has been referred to Ipid for further investigation.”
Ipid did not respond to queries at the time of publication. Anyone with information can contact Crime Stop on 08600 10111.
Cape Argus