Charles van Wyk and his wife, Virquelene, and daughter, Charné, as well as Virquelene’s sister, Soline May, in front of the house where the shooting took place. PHOTO: Moeketsi Mogotsi

"All I was thinking of was that my kids are safe," was what went through Virquelene van Wyk's mind when an unknown gunman opened fire on their house in Daly Street, Heidedal,  before midnight last Thursday.

The Van Wyk family most probably fell victim to a case of mistaken identity for someone who allegedly "robbed some Nigerians" earlier on.  The Van Wyk's  house was mistakenly identified as the house where the robber stays.

In this alleged revenge attack, Virquelene and her six-year-old daughter were shot while they were already in bed. She has been shot through the foot and her daughter in the leg. The daughter's injury is mostly a flesh wound while the mother might lose three of her toes.

According to Virquelene, the bullets which injured both her and her daughter were probably meant for someone else. They think the gunman wanted to get back at someone who robbed other people. 

"We are not involved in any drugs, guns or illegal matters like robberies. We are not the people they are looking for," she said.

Her husband,  Charles van Wyk (35), told OFM what happened before the shots were fired.

“I saw a white VW Golf drive past our house and then it drove back up and parked outside our yard. After that gun shots just started going off,” said Charles.

Virquelene said her husband just rushed into the room where she and her daughter were sleeping and told them to lie down.

“When my husband said to lie down, all I could think of was protecting my one-year-old who was lying on my left-hand side. It sounded like stones were hitting the windows, we just heard them break. My husband then just told us to be dead still.

The first bullet that came through the window struck my toe and the next one hit my daughter. She started screaming, saying, ‘Mama! Mama! My leg is sore.’ ”

Virquelene said from what they could count they heard around nine bullets or so.

Charles said his car’s windscreen was also deliberately struck and his car was what initially attracted the shooters to their house.

He said according to what they've heard, a car similar to his was recently used in a robbery of a Nigerian store and the attack on his family seemed to have been a revenge hit.

Community members also spoke out against the attack.

Daniel Adams, who stays five houses down the road from the Van Wyks, says they do not feel safe as a community after such an incident.

He says they don’t go out late at night and also sleep early.

Virquelene said they have had sleepless nights since the incident and her daughter has had to sleep at a neighbour's house ever since that night.

Police spokesperson, Fikiswa Matoti, said a case of attempted murder has been registered at the Heidedal Police Station.

Matoti says the motive for the shooting is unknown and has appealed to anyone with information to come forward to assist the police in solving the case.

OFM News