Cape Town - A 14-year-old boy was stabbed to death, allegedly by a shopkeeper in Delft.
Shafiek Lodewyk died at the scene an hour after the stabbing on Friday night. He was with his friends near the shop when the incident occurred, in Gash Crescent, Leiden.
The police said he was found with multiple wounds to his groin area.
His distraught mother, Gameeda Lodewyk, said the last time she saw her son, he asked her to charge her Bluetooth speaker.
“He would always stand near the shop and listen to music. He left after the afternoon prayer and then he came and asked me to charge the speaker for him, but he was in a hurry.
“I called his name and he looked back at me and I smiled at him, he smiled back and walked away. It was not even five minutes after that, I heard girls screaming and calling us.”
She explained that she went outside and saw Shafiek on the ground, a few houses from their home.
“He was still breathing, there was a lot of blood coming from the waist to the legs. We waited for at least an hour for the ambulance. We were advised by the police to leave him on the ground, because we didn’t know where the stab wound was.”
Gameeda told the Cape Argus that the shopkeeper, an Ethiopian man who has since been arrested, had a fight with Shafiek a week ago.
“Last Monday they had a physical altercation with the shopkeeper, who is very rude. Everyone complained about him and his behaviour, we even told the owner of the shop but he didn’t do anything.
“On Friday, they had another fight and the shopkeeper took out a sharp object and slashed my son, I suspect in the leg.
“He must have cut a vein. He lost a lot of blood.
“After stabbing my son, the suspect locked himself in the shop, the angry community tried to break in but the police stopped them.
“Everyone knew my son and loved him because he was a good boy, that is reason they reacted that way.”
The owner of the shop went to collect the stock on Friday night, and the following day residents returned and broke in but didn’t find anything.
Police spokesperson FC van Wyk said: “Delft police registered a murder case following a stabbing incident on Friday at about 7.30pm in front of a premises in Gash Crescent, Leiden."
According to reports the SAPS members received a complaint of murder and on arrival on the scene they found a 14-year-old boy who had been stabbed.
“Circumstances surrounding this stabbing incident are under investigation. The motive could be an argument. The victim had multiple stab wounds in the groin area. No arrest yet, the investigation continues.”
Anyone with any information is kindly requested to contact Crime Stop at 08600 10111.