‘I saw my son lying dead on top of two women’: father’s anguish after Lavender Hill massacre - TimesLIVE

Mark Nicholson had warned his 31-year-old son, Keenan, to be careful and avoid moving around unnecessarily because of the gun violence plaguing their Lavender Hill neighbourhood. Hours later, he found him dead in the family’s backyard, lying on top of two women, one dead and the other fighting for her life.

Keenan was among five people killed in a suspected gang-related mass shooting in the Cape Flats community on Saturday evening. Three other people were wounded.

“I am not fine,” Nicholson told the Sunday Times on Monday after visiting the mortuary to identify his son’s body.

Earlier that day, father and son had spoken about the dangers of gun violence in their community.

“We talked to him about not moving around a lot because of the gun violence in our area,” Nicholson said.

Keenan had gone to sleep when his friends arrived with plans to have a braai in the family’s backyard. He was due to leave in two weeks for an electrical job, and they wanted to spend time together before his departure.

“They went and sat in the backyard with four beers,” Nicholson said.

The shooting happened shortly after 6.30pm, while Nicholson was in bed preparing for the Sunday church service.

“I was actually going through my Bible when someone came running to say there had been a shooting. Then there was a commotion, and we were all running around. One guy was in my living room and was still talking. I started shouting, ‘Where is my son?’ because I could not see him. Outside, I saw him lying dead on top of two females. One was dead, and the other was still alive. He was shot in the back. Maybe he was trying to run away,” he said.

Seeing his son’s body was devastating, but Nicholson said he had to put his grief aside to call the police and an ambulance.

The pain is too deep. It is going to take time for me to heal.

As he moved around the yard, he counted four bodies outside, while another victim was in his living room.

Nicholson said he was struggling to understand what could have motivated the attack. He believes the shooting may be connected to a court case involving one of the victims, who had been a witness in a case in which the victim had been shot.

The case is expected to go to court. He said the victim, who was wheelchair-bound, had been shot twice.

Nicholson, who co-founded the Lavender Community Centre where Keenan had volunteered, said the loss was particularly painful.

“The pain is too deep. It is going to take time for me to heal,” he said.

Western Cape police commissioner Lt-Gen Sizakhele Dyantyi and provincial police management visited the crime scene in Blode Street, Lavender Hill, on Sunday.

Dyantyi condemned the killings, saying it could not be normal for people to be murdered in such numbers in their communities.

Police resources have been deployed to the area as investigators work to identify and arrest those responsible for the murders and attempted murders.

A R100,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to the arrest and successful prosecution of the perpetrators.

Dyantyi also condemned an attack on police officers who responded to the shooting on Saturday evening. Steenberg police were pelted with stones as they arrived at the scene.

Western Cape minister of police oversight and community safety Anroux Marais condemned the suspected gang-related attack, saying no community should have to endure such bloodshed or live in constant fear for their safety.

“The time for decisive, sustained action against gangs is now,” she said.

Marais called on SAPS to intensify intelligence-driven operations against known gang groups, target their leadership and dismantle the networks supplying them with illegal firearms and ammunition.

She also urged Anti-Gang Unit detectives to pursue every lead, while calling on the National Prosecuting Authority to prosecute the cases rigorously and the courts to impose sentences reflecting the severity of the crimes.

“Those convicted of such heinous acts must face the full consequences of the law,” she said.