Gugulethu Mall cautiously reopened its doors to shoppers on Wednesday, a day after one of its main entrances hosted a fatal shooting that sent shockwaves reverberating throughout the community.
Gugulethu Mall shooting: How a local businessman was lured to his death
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Eyewitnesses who were near the vicinity of the shooting took to social media to share their perspectives of the events that unfolded before their eyes at the shopping centre on Tuesday afternoon.
While scenarios may differ, a common factor found in the narratives is that the victim, a local businessman, was lured to his death.
Details about the incident are still sketchy but sources with intimate knowledge of the Gugulethu Mall shooting spoke to us in anonymity, suggesting the man was the latest victim of an extortion attempt gone horribly wrong.
From what we understand, the man in question ran a relatively successful hair salon a street away from the shopping mall, and much like many startup entrepreneurs breaking into the township market, he may have been the latest target of an extortion syndicate notorious for taxing businesses for ‘protection fees’.
On the day of his murder, it’s said the victim received a phone call instructing him to head to Gugulethu Mall.
When he got to the entrance where Clicks and Sportscene are situated, the budding businessman allegedly received another call and before he could pick up, a gunman had snuck up close and unleashed a hail of gunfire.
The local businessman was declared dead on the scene.
In a statement to Swisher Post, Cape Town police spokesperson Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi confirmed the incident.
“Gugulethu SAPS responded to a complaint on Tuesday, 14 November 2023. Upon their arrival at a local shopping complex in NY1 Gugulethu at around 12:10, they found the body of an unknown man who sustained multiple gunshot wounds,” the statement read.
According to WO Swartbooi, early indications suggest multiple suspects were involved in the brazen hit.
“The motive for this attack is now the subject of a police investigation,” he added.