A New Brighton homeowner has described how, paralysed by fear, he hid behind his bedroom door until the gunshots stopped.
When he finally emerged from his bedroom, he found three friends in the bathroom with multiple wounds.
The deadly shooting on Thursday night occurred just hours after Eastern Cape community safety MEC Xolile Nqatha addressed residents in the city about tackling violent crime.
The triple murder was followed by another deadly shooting of a man seated in his vehicle nearby.
Gqeberha police said all four murders were still under investigation.
Earlier in the day, Nqatha had been the guest speaker at the Ebenezer Methodist Church in Zwide, where various stakeholders pledged to work together to combat crime in Nelson Mandela Bay.
But the talks and plans were seemingly not enough, as residents in Nikiwe and Tsiwula streets that night were forced to hide or run for their lives as gunshots rang out.
In the aftermath, it was discovered that four people had been killed.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Nobuntu Gantana said the first incident occurred just after 7pm in Nikiwe Street.
She said three friends, between the ages of 37 and 41, were killed by two unknown men who had entered the premises and opened fire from the back yard.
The victims — Nozuko Mbuqe, Phumzile Rweqana and Mlungisi Debi — were transported to hospital where they were all declared dead on arrival.
The frightening incident occurred at the home of a 67-year-old man, who did not see the shooters.
Then, just around the corner from the crime scene, in Tshiwula Street, a man was shot dead while seated in his vehicle.
Gantana said according to preliminary reports, two men had approached the 52-year-old man and fired multiple shots at him, striking him in the upper chest.
He was declared dead at the scene. His name is known to The Herald but the police have not yet released his identity.
According to insiders, he was shot dead while sitting inside the car with a child.
The child was not injured.
Residents believe that the man was shot by the same attackers as they possibly feared that he might have been able to link them to the earlier shootings.
Gantana said four counts of murder were under investigation and appealed to anyone with information that could assist in identifying and locating the culprits to contact their nearest police station.
She also assured the community that all necessary resources were being deployed to ensure the perpetrators were brought to book.
When a Herald team arrived at the 67-year-old man’s home on Friday, he was still in shock.
The crime scene was no longer cordoned off, but it was evident that fingerprints had been taken from the door frame.
Blood was also spattered on the floor leading to the toilet where the three bodies were found.
The toilet door was riddled with bullet holes.
Inside the toilet cubicle, there was an empty crate which appeared to have been used by the victims to sit on.
There were also blood smears along both the inside and outside wall.
Spurred by the sound of gunshots, the man, fearing for his life, hid behind his bedroom door until there was silence.
Earlier, he had been watching TV in the lounge.
He said he had been aware that Mbuqe, Rweqana and Debi were hanging out together in the bathroom area — which had been out of use for some time — listening to music.
All of a sudden, gunshots went off.
“I jumped up and ran into the bedroom. I had to hide behind the door.”
He said he only exited when he heard people from the neighbourhood in his yard, seemingly to investigate what had transpired.
Still emotional on Friday, he said he could not keep count of how many gunshots went off.
“I heard many shots. I could not keep count but I think there were more than five,” he said.
When he finally braved walking towards the toilet, he said he would never forget what he saw.
“Never in my life have I witnessed something so horrific. One of [the victims] was lying against the wall on the left side, the girl was in the middle, and the other was in a kneeling position,” he said.
“I’m really not OK. I will never get over this.”
A neighbour then rushed Rweqana and Debi to hospital.
Mbuqe’s family arrived to fetch her.
The traumatised man said it was not unusual for the three friends to hang out at his home.
Rweqana had even lived with him at a stage, while Mbuqe and Debi were the younger man’s friends.
A friend of the three deceased, Cuba Mndayi, described them as good people who did odd jobs to make a living.
However, he claimed they were allegedly known as recreational drug users.
“We lived together and knew each other well,” the friend said.
“We even used to do the same jobs such as washing cars.
“Nozuko used to do laundry for the locals.
“We used to chat about life and our challenges.”
Mbuqe’s family declined to comment, saying they first needed to discuss the matter with the rest of the family.
However, a source close to the family, who asked not to named, described Mbuqe as an outgoing person.
“From an early age, she never took life seriously though she was a very smart girl,” the family friend said.
She said despite her challenges, Mbuqe was a loving person, who did not deserve to die in such a manner.
Contacted for comment, Nqatha said Nikiwe Street was not known as being a problematic area.
He expressed his shock at what had occurred and condemned the incident.
Nqatha said the fight against crime would continue in the Bay.
“We remain undeterred in our fight against crime. We call for maximum co-operation from the community,” Nqatha said.
The Herald
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