Chaos at a funeral: Mourners arrested after randomly firing bullets, crashing into yard
|Published
A pistol on the ground Two Mpumalanga men, aged 40 and 36 are appearing in Mdutjana Magistrate's Court for allegedly firing random shot at a funeral. Photo: SAPS
Pretoria – Dramatic scenes were witnessed at the funeral of a Mpumalanga man, Klaas Motswadira, as mourners repeatedly fired shots in the air before shooting at police officers who tried to intervene.
Ironically, Mpumalanga police spokesperson Brigadier Selvy Mohlala said Motswadira was killed in a shooting.
“According to our report, the team (of police officers) were monitoring a funeral of Klaas Motswadira, who was shot the previous weekend. The funeral was attended by about 600 people and mostly youth,” said Mohlala.
“It is alleged that during the burial proceedings at the cemetery, some attendees started shooting in the air with pistols and rifles, but fortunately, no one was injured in that process.”
When the convoy left the cemetery, heading back home, police said the funeral attendees continued shooting randomly. They were confronted by members of the police national intervention unit (NIU).
“The (NIU) members tried to stop them, but instead, the suspects shot at them and then sped off. A vehicle chase ensued, and the suspects lost control of their vehicle and collided with the wall at Siyabuswa E,” said Mohlala.
The owner of the wall also laid charges against the driver of the vehicle.
Police searched the vehicle and found one pistol with a filled serial number and one empty magazine.
The vehicle, a Ford Ranger Wildtrak, was seized together with the firearm.
“The firearm will be subjected to ballistic testing to verify if it was not used in the commission of any crime,” said Mohlala.
“A 40-year-old from Ramokgeletsana village and a 36-year-old from Siyabuswa will appear before the Mdutjana Magistrate's Court (today) Monday 21 February 2022, facing charges of possession of an unlicensed firearm, discharging a firearm in public, attempted murder, malicious damage to property, and reckless and negligence driving.”
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